Chris Kreider had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 5-2 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils in Game 6 on Saturday.
The win tied the Eastern Conference first-round series at 3-3, with Game 7 set for Monday in New Jersey.
Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox had two assists for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 of 36 shots.
Curtis Lazar scored and Akira Schmid allowed five goals on 29 shots for the Devils before being replaced by Vitek Vanecek late in the third period. Vanecek played 2:18 before being pulled for an extra attacker and did not face any shots.
Lazar gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 11:49 of the first period. Shesterkin stopped a shot by defenseman Kevin Bahl from above the left circle but provided a rebound at the top of the crease, where Lazar quickly deposited it into the open side of the net.
Kreider tied it 1-1 on the power play with 25 seconds remaining in the opening frame, when Zibanejad’s shot from outside the left circle deflected off Kreider’s foot past Schmid.
Zibanejad put New York ahead 2-1 with his first of the series midway through the second period. Kreider sent a backhand feed from behind the net to an uncovered Zibanejad in the slot.
Tarasenko scored on a shot from the high slot to make it 3-1 Rangers at 18:25.
Barclay Goodrow pushed it to 4-1 when he got a piece of his stick on a Jimmy Vesey shot from high in the left circle that fluttered toward the far side at 7:23 of the third period.
Braden Schneider’s point shot extended it to 5-1 at 12:28, chasing Schmid from the net.
With Vanecek pulled and the Devils on the power play, Dawson Mercer capitalized on a rebound in the slot to narrow it to 5-2 at 15:12.
–Field Level Media
