Rangers Force Game 7
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
On Sunday evening, the Pittsburgh Penguins had their 2nd chance to close the series against the New York Rangers. New York was at once down three games to one in the series, and went on to take two straight must-win games. The Rangers won game 5 in Pittsburgh, five goals to one and game 6 at Madison Square Garden three goals to one.
The Rangers really started to show up during game 5, getting past the Penguins’ strong defense and beating Fleury. The Rangers have struggled on their power plays throughout the entire post season, but they are getting lot better. They were able to develop better special teams and capitalize on their opportunities.
Game 6 got off to a good start for the Rangers, with a goal by Marty St. Louis. Losing his mother a few days prior, St. Louis still decided to play in games 5 and 6 after his trip back to his home in Montreal to see his family. St. Louis knew his mother would’ve wanted him to play and that his team needed him.
Minutes after St. Louis’s goal, Carl Hagelin came up the left side with speed. A failed pass for Brad Richards, Hagelin kept on it and put the puck past Fleury with a clean backhand shot, making it 2-0 Rangers less than 10 minutes into the game.
At the end of the first period, Pittsburgh scored on a ricocheted shot off of Rangers defenseman, Kevin Klein. No Penguins player actually touched the puck, however, Brandon Sutter received credit for the goal.
During the second period, Penguins Marcel Goc came up the wing, during a Rangers power play, alone against Henrik Lundqvist. Goc celebrated what looked like a goal, but the puck never went in. Both teams lost sight of the puck until the Rangers defense recovered.
Later in the second period, Derek Brassard scored making it 3-1 Rangers.
After the win, the Rangers have a ritual of giving the ‘Broadway Hat’ to the number one player that night. Marty St. Louis gave a moving speech to his teammates after the game 6 victory:
“Great one, boys. You’ve got to picture it, you know? You got to believe it, you got to see it in your head that everything’s possible. Everybody pushed tonight. I can’t pick one guy. I’ve got to give it to the whole team. You guys have been nothing but unbelievable for me these past couple of days, and I’ll never forget that. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the New York Rangers.”
New York has forced a game 7 which the Pittsburgh Penguins will host at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, May 13 at 7 pm.
