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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNMay 16, 2024, 10:03 PM ET
CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider told his teammates he felt there was a goal in his stick before the third period of Game 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes, with his team trailing 3-1.
“I said, ‘I sure hope so,'” recalled teammate Vincent Trocheck.
Kreider did score a goal in the third period in Raleigh on Thursday night. And then another. And another. His natural hat trick in the final frame fueled New York’s 5-3 comeback win, which eliminated the Hurricanes after Carolina had rallied from a 3-0 series deficit. The Rangers await the winner of the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference final.
“That is just a monster third period,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “He put it on his back and he really delivered. It was more than just him, but at the end of the day, we needed to score goals, and this is what he does.”
Kreider now has seven goals in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. Only two Rangers players have scored more in their first 10 games of a postseason: Ron Duguay and Ulf Nilsson in 1981 (8 goals).
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Kreider became the ninth player in NHL history to record a natural hat trick in the third period of a game. He’s the sixth player in NHL playoff history to record a natural hat trick at any point in a game that included a series-clinching goal. Only two other players in NHL history have had a natural hat trick in the third period that included a series-clinching goal.
“It was clutch. I think we were down on ourselves after the first two periods. Whenever you’re in a spot like that, you need your big players to come up big, and that’s what Chris did tonight,” Trocheck said.
Kreider’s first goal at 6:43 of the third period came after linemate Mika Zibanejad tried to bank the puck off the skate of Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen from a bad angle. Kreider skated in and knocked the loose puck in front of Andersen into the net to…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40161089/kreider-3rd-period-hat-trick-helps-rangers-finish-hurricanes
Author : Greg Wyshynski
Publish date : 2024-05-17 05:22:09
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