Chris Kreider scores late, Rangers beat Penguins 5-3 to force Game 7

Chris Kreider’s long shot bounced off Louis Domingue and into the net with 1:28 remaining, and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Friday to take their thrilling first-round series to a decisive Game 7.

Kreider’s second of the game and fourth of the playoffs sent the series back to New York. Andrew Copp added an empty net for good measure in the final seconds. Game 7 is Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Mike Zibanejad had two goals and two assists and Adam Fox had four assists. Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 shots to win at PPG Paints Arena for the first time in this series after being chased by Pittsburgh in Games 3 and 4.

Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter scored for Pittsburgh. Domingue, who has become a local folk hero while filling in for the injured Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith, made 33 saves but couldn’t control Kreider’s shot, which appeared to hit him high and then popped up in the air and behind him before. rolling on the net.

Pittsburgh played without captain Sidney Crosby, who sat out with an upper-body injury. His future status is uncertain.

For most of the start of Game 6, it looked like the Penguins would find a way to move forward without him.

The Penguins throttled Shesterkin in Games 3 and 4, ending their night early with relatively easy wins. The chants of “IIIIIIGOOORRRRR” began before the opening puck dropped, and the roars only grew more incessant after Pittsburgh scored twice in the first period to take a quick lead.

Carter used his 6-foot-3 frame to stretch for a backhand bunt in front of the net that slid past Shesterkin 14:12 into the first, the 18-year veteran’s eight goals in 12 career playoff games since who joined Pittsburgh in the 2021 trade deadline.

Rust, as close to a “closer” as there is for the Penguins, then made it 2-0 just over 90 seconds later when he hit a one-shot from Jake Guentzel. The score marked Rust’s 11th goal in a decider or elimination game since he made his postseason debut in 2016.

Pittsburgh, however, has struggled at times to maintain momentum after building a multi-goal lead. A three-goal lead disappeared in Game 3, though the Penguins rallied to win and walk away. A two-goal lead vanished in New York in Game 5.

It was much the same in Game 6. This time, it was Zibanejad who led the charge. He scored twice in a span of 76 seconds to tie things up. The first came just 5 seconds after Pittsburgh’s Evan Rodrigues was called for manhandling New York’s Ryan Lindgren after objecting to a hit on the boards. Zibanejad fired a one-shot from the right circle to give New York a much-needed jolt.

Zibanejad then took out the Rangers even 1:16 later with another laser, this one just above the right circle. Kreider gave the Rangers the lead at 13:48 of the second by hitting a rebound on Zibanejad’s shot, and Shesterkin also got an assist on the play.

Just as they did in Game 5, the Penguins responded when Malkin extended his stick to intercept a pass at the Pittsburgh blue line. The Russian star then beat New York defenseman K’Andre Miller before launching a wrist shot from Shesterkin for his 68th career playoff goal.

This set up another tense ending to a series that began with a classic triple-overtime game in Game 1 and is now set for a memorable decider at the Garden.