On Sunday night, for the fourth time in team history, the New York Rangers entered a Game 7 having come back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a deciding game.
And for the fourth time in team history, the Rangers won that Game 7, Artemi Panarin’s winner on the Power Play 4:46 into overtime – the 46th in a Game 7 in NHL history – putting the Blueshirts past the Penguins, 4-3, and advancing the Rangers to a second-round matchup with Carolina.
“I think (the character) has been there all year,” Mika Zibanejad, who had seven points between Games 6 and 7, said on the ice after the win. “We believe in our group; we’re like a family, everyone wants to see everyone else succeed and is working for each other. We’ve shown it all year.”
It’s the second time the Penguins have been the victim of a Rangers comeback from down 3-1 – the other was in 2014, when the Blueshirts went to their last Stanley Cup Final – and if you want to talk about character, think of this: the Rangers lost Game 1 in a tough third overtime, saw goalie Igor Shesterkin pulled twice during blowout losses in Games 3 and 4, and came back from down 2-0 in both Games 5 and 6 (as well as 2-1 and 3-2 in Game 7).
“It’s not really a lot of talk, it’s lead by example, Andrew Copp, one of the Rangers’ trade deadline acquisitions, told the TNT broadcast crew shortly after the game. “I don’t think anyone was wavering when we were down three games to one, or down 2-0 in the last two games, or 3-2 late tonight. It’s an even-keeled bunch that believes in each other, and I think that’s been the key so far.”
A series that saw the Rangers on the business end of several questionable calls – including one at the end of that third OT in Game 1 – looked like it would end the same way; Dalton Miller’s power-play goal that tied it at 1-1 was called from the NHL Situation Room, and Jake Guentzel made it 2-1 in the second period on a disputed goal with a stick that may have been too high above the crossbar.
Replay review let the call stand, but 65 seconds later, K’Andre Miller sniped one in to re-tie the game at 2-2 – and after Evan Rodrigues’ short-handed goal made it 3-2 Pens after two, it was Zibanejad, the hero of the end of the series, who slammed one past Tristan Jarry midway through the third to knot it at 3-3.
“We’ve seen that a lot this year, down in the third period and we find ways to win games we probably shouldn’t,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Their demeanor stayed the same, and we kept working and battling. That’s our team; we compete, we battle, and we find ways to win.”
In Zibanejad’s first-ever Game 7, he scored arguably the biggest goal of his career to keep it going.
“Probably,” Zibanejad said when asked if it was his career highlight goal. “We kept saying just get the puck to the net and keep going, so it was good to see one go in there.”
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The Rangers indeed kept going, and in OT, it was Miller who once again came up big, using his speed to poke the puck away from Brock McGinn and forcing McGinn into a holding penalty as he broke away down the ice.
It took almost the whole power play, but finally, Panarin, who led the Rangers with 96 points but scored just 22 goals in the regular-season, went short-side past defenseman Kris Letang and Jarry with the series winner, joining Stephane Matteau (cue Howie Rose call!) and Derek Stepan as the three Rangers with OT Game 7 winning goals.
“I blocked the picture,” Panarin laughed about his game-winner. “They’ve been letting me shoot since Game 1, and it’s my bad I haven’t been taking those shots. Maybe I should listen to everyone’s advice and actually get out there and take shots.”
“The ice wasn’t great tonight, and that affects a guy like him – but he’s the guy that, heading into overtime, I said to myself, ‘I know he’s gonna score if we score; if we get the winning goal, it’s gonna be him,’” Gallant added. “Sure enough, he makes a great play.”
The Rangers are now 4-0 when forcing Game 7 after a 3-1 deficit, and 8-1 in Game 7s at home all-time, the only loss Game 7 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final to Tampa Bay that denied them back-to-back Prince of Wales Trophies. And, according to the team's stats department, they made NHL history, too:
But most importantly, they’re now once again 0-0 with Carolina coming up, and the Garden faithful have at least two more to look forward to before MSG shuts down for the summer.
“This was unreal, especially going into OT,” Copp said. “You dream about these kinds of games at places like MSG, so for us to come out on top is special.”
And after Copp, we’ll give the cap on that subject to the game-winner, Panarin: "Great emotions. Our fans gave us a lot of energy during that game. Thanks to them for that, and we’ll keep moving on.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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