Rangers headed to Eastern Conference Final after 6-2 win against Hurricanes in Game 7
The New York Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference Final by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 on Monday in Game 7 of a second round series.
The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the game Monday with a pair of power-play goals in the first period from Adam Fox and Chris Kreider. New York added to its lead in the second period with a goal from Ryan Strome and, in the third period, Kreider pushed the lead to four with his second goal of the game.
Carolina got its first goal of the game with just under 12 minutes left in the third period when Tony DeAngelo scored on a power play, but it was quickly negated when the Rangers' Filip Chytil scored 40 seconds later.
The Hurricanes' final goal of the season came from Max Domi with 3:47 left in the third period. A minute later the Rangers' Andrew Copp scored on an empty net.
New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin, the runaway favorite to win the Vezina Trophy, finished with 36 saves on the night.
The Hurricanes lost all six road games they played in the postseason but were undefeated at home prior to Monday. In the decisive Game 7 against the Rangers, the Hurricanes lost center Seth Jarvis to an upper-body injury in the first period and goaltender Antti Raanta in the second period to a lower body injury.
New York will next meet the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.
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