The Rangers’ Manifest Destiny still lies ahead. The team that waited all year to get back to the playoffs now must wait one day for at least one more match.
Battle of the Hudson VII will get a Game VII on Monday in Newark.
The Hunt for a Silver June continues.
“Most of the teams I’ve been on have been in this kind of position, we’ve don’t seem to be in the lead very often, so I guess I’m used to it,” Chris Kreider told The Post after the Rangers beat the Devils 5-2 in Game 6 on Saturday night at the Garden to stave off elimination. “It’s kind of what we do.”
It. Is. Kind. Of. What. Chris. Does. Too.
Because even though the Rangers played with urgency and purpose out of the gate, the Devils were still able, midway through the first period, to grab a 1-0 lead that might have deflated a different group.
But these Blueshirts stuck to it and stuck to it. They brought snarl to the ice, took the body and contested every inch of the 200-by-85 surface with restructured lines rolling until Kreider himself tied the score with his sixth goal of the series and fifth on the power play by deflecting home Mika Zibanejad’s one-timer with 25 seconds remaining in the first period.
“Obviously no man steps in the same river twice and it’s obviously a very different situation, but we were down 2-0 to Pittsburgh when we were facing elimination in Game 6 last year,” said Kreider, who extended his franchise-leading playoff goal total to 40. “But this group has the same characteristics as last year’s.
“We came into this game with belief and never wavered when we fell behind. They were playing well, but we stayed the course.”
The goal by Kreider broke New Jersey netminding folk hero Akira Schmid’s shutout streak at 97:53. By the time the rookie was pulled from the game at 12:28 of the third period, the Swiss native had surrendered five goals in 32:53.
“We shot the puck,” Kreider said. “We got to the front. I think we made it a little tougher on him.”
Igor Shesterkin turned in a vintage performance in goal for the Rangers, making several notable saves among his 34 for the night. Included were a pair of bang-bang stops on Dawson Mercer and Erik Haula from the front, 3:50 into the second period when the score was still 1-1.
There was another point-blank save on Mercer — whose takedown of an accelerating Patrick Kane gave the Rangers the power play on which they scored — just two minutes later and then a stretch-pad save on Jack Hughes, at 8:30 while the score remained tied.
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But then it turned. Zibanejad got on the board with a whistling wrister from the slot off a neat backhand centering feed from Kreider at 10:10 of the second period. Vladimir Tarasenko, who had moved up to the unit with Kreider and Zibanejad, extended the lead to 3-1 with a left wing wrist shot at 18:25.
The big guys put their stamp on this one. Jacob Trouba was relentless, credited with four hits when it seemed as if he’d delivered at least twice as many. Kane and Artemi Panarin demanded attention. Adam Fox elevated his game. Cream rose to the top.
(In other news, Timo Meier does not have a point in the series and Nico Hischier does not have a goal for the Devils. Et tu, stars on the other side of the Hudson.)
The Blueshirts were on the puck throughout and closed quickly when New Jersey owned it. They got in lanes and blocked shots and deflected passes. They took no guff from the Devils when they encroached on Shesterkin’s crease. Not only did they push back, but they also shoved first, while at the other end the Rangers finally made it uncomfortable for Schmid.
“You don’t think about the past,” Tarasenko said. “You only focus on what’s ahead.”
The late first period penalty and ensuing power-play goal changed the dynamic. It changed the game. It pumped confidence into a group that had been frustrated with its inability to put the puck in the net.
“The power-play goal at the end of the first was uplifting,” Fox said. “We needed to get the puck to the net. This was a good example of when you do the right things, the puck goes in.”
Kreider, of course, made his NHL debut as a 20-year-old in Game 3 of the 2012 first round at Ottawa. He scored five goals in 18 games in the playoffs that year. He had 10 goals in 20 playoff games last year.
We. See. Chris.
“I don’t do anything special for these games,” he said. “I think just the way the playoffs force everyone to simplify works for me.”
The infantry pounded and the fly boys got some glory. The Rangers did not retreat. The Rangers did not yield. Backed against the ropes, they came out of their corner swinging.
The dream is still alive. Manifest Destiny lies ahead. Game 7 at The Rock on Monday. Oh baby.
