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Derek Stepan's overtime winner advances Rangers' playoff run and Game 7 legend

Derek Stepan's overtime winner advances Rangers' playoff run and Game 7 legend

NEW YORK — Overtime. Game 7. Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers gained control after a faceoff in the Washington Capitals’ zone, and Keith Yandle whipped a pass from the right wing to the point. Dan Girardi fired a shot through the slot.

“I thought it was going in,” Girardi said, “because I didn’t hear anything, didn’t see anything. It went by everyone.”

But the puck hit a stick, a shin pad, something, and bounced straight to Derek Stepan at the left hash marks. Stepan buried it before goaltender Braden Holtby could recover, and just like that, the Rangers won Wednesday night, 2-1, and earned their second straight trip to the Eastern Conference final.

Stepan leapt for joy. His teammates mobbed him. The Capitals consoled each other. Before the teams shook hands, Holtby pushed his mask back atop his head, rested his hands atop the knob of his stick and looked up at the massive scoreboard screen, wondering what the hell happened.

Stepan's OT winner gave the Rangers their sixth straight Game 7 victory in the past four years. (AP)
Stepan's OT winner gave the Rangers their sixth straight Game 7 victory in the past four years. (AP)

“You knew it was going to end like that somehow, either way,” Girardi said. “It was going to be a shot on net, quick play, and I’m glad we are on the good end of that one.”

That’s the nature of the playoffs, especially in seventh games, especially in overtimes. The games are so close, they come down to blurs and bounces. You have to watch the replays over and over sometimes to find out exactly what the difference was in the end.

The thing is, the Rangers are on the good end of these a lot. They are 7-0 in Game 7s at home all-time. They have won six straight Game 7s overall, tying the NHL record, all within the past four years.

They have won their last 10 home games in which they faced elimination, an NHL record, dating to 2008. They’re the first to come back from 3-1 series deficits in back-to-back years. They did it against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round last year and against the Capitals in the second round this year.

They aren’t just lucky. They’re good. It starts with their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, who gives them a chance to win every night and puts them in position for that blur and bounce to go their way. It continues through a roster of depth and speed and skill – and confidence that grows in each one of these moments.

They’re comfortable in low-scoring, one-goal games. (Every single one of their 12 games in these playoffs has been decided by a goal. Eight have been 2-1 scores.) They’re comfortable when behind in a series or a game.

“You know, it’s just a good feeling being a part of this group,” said Lundqvist, who has won six straight Game 7s, an NHL record, and has a 0.97 goals-against average in Game 7s, the lowest in NHL history among goaltenders with at least three appearances. “We’ve been through so many things over the past few years, and you learn from it, and you appreciate those moments. … It definitely helps us that we’ve been part of so many different things.”

After beating the Penguins in five games in the first round, the Rangers found themselves two minutes from elimination in this series. They faced a 3-1 series deficit and a 1-0 deficit in Game 5 at MSG. But Chris Kreider scored with 1:41 left in regulation, and Ryan McDonagh scored 9:37 into overtime, and they stayed alive. That will haunt the Capitals for a long time.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has reason to smile, with a 0.97 GAA in six undefeated Game 7s. (AP)
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has reason to smile, with a 0.97 GAA in six undefeated Game 7s. (AP)

“I was really impressed by how much ‘no panic’ there was with this team,” said Yandle, who joined the Rangers at the trade deadline and sees them with fresh eyes. “Last series when we were up it was the same as this series when we were down. It’s just an even-keeled group.”

The Rangers beat the Capitals 4-3 in Game 6. In the aftermath, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin issued a guarantee, or a mission statement, or proclamation of faith, however you wanted to take it and blow it up. He said the Caps were going to “come back and win the series.” The Rangers weren’t exactly intimidated.

“We weren’t too tense, we weren’t too laid back,” Girardi said. “We just felt confident. ‘We come out and play our game and give ourselves a chance to win, and anything can happen.’ That’s a good way to go into a game. No one’s squeezing their stick too tight. No one’s getting all crazy running around. We just kind of stay calm and play within our system.”

Ovechkin scored the opening goal in the first period Wednesday night, and you could imagine the columns comparing him to Mark Messier being written in heads up and down the press box. The Rangers weren’t exactly worried.

“When they scored, we knew we had to get one,” Yandle said. “It didn’t matter who got it or when it came. We just knew that we had to get one. I don’t think there was any panic.”

They got one when rookie Kevin Hayes scored on the power play in the second period. The game grew tense in the third, each team fearing a season-ending mistake, but opened up in OT. The Capitals carried the play. They hemmed the Rangers in their zone during one shift especially. Lundqvist gave the Rangers a chance, waiting for the blur, waiting for the bounce.

“I think it’s important that you stay focused on the process,” Lundqvist said. “Obviously they won three out of four, but it was close games. That’s important to know, that you don’t need to change much to win the game. If you feel like you have to do so much more, you might be in a tough spot. But we knew that we were really close, and there were a couple things to fix. The puck needed to bounce our way a little bit more, and it did.”

Again.

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