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Chris Kreider puts the Rangers on his back for a series-clinching rally. Jalen Brunson drops 44 on the Pacers to put the Knicks one win away from the conference finals.
New York Rangers
The Games
East Semifinals Game 6 | Win 5-3 at Hurricanes | Win the series 4-2
The agony and the ecstasy. This is why we hate sports. This is why we love sports. This is the entire spectrum of emotions you can have as a fan all bottled up into one legendary playoff thriller.
After starting the playoffs 7-0 and pushing the powerful Carolina Hurricanes to the brink, the Rangers lost a hard-fought battle in Raleigh and then face planted on home ice for Game 5. The Blueshirt Faithful were understandably rattled, upset, and nervous. Last year, the Rangers looked dominant and then blew a 2-0 series lead to the Devils. The year before that, they were up 2-0 in the series and 2-0 in Game 3 against the Lightning, before losing four straight in the Eastern Conference Finals. Surely, they weren't about to become just the fifth team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead... right?
Game 6 began with all of that tension and pressure on the Rangers, who I thought came out looking pretty strong for the first 18 minutes or so. They were only credited with 3 shots on goal in the first period, but they were playing hard, winning puck battles, and getting a ton of offensive zone time. But things took a turn in the dying minutes of the period, when the Rangers had a brutal defensive lapse and left Martin Necas wide open in front of the net for the first goal of the game. The only thing more wide open than Necas was the bottle of wine I immediately started chugging as the Rangers fell behind 1-0. Weekday sobriety quickly went out the window in this one.
The 2nd period got pretty brutal, but it started out okay. The Rangers got a power play after a high-sticking call on Martinook and it looked like a great opportunity to even up the score. Unfortunately, the power play looked horrible, the Hurricanes got a rush the other way, and Kreider took a penalty trying to prevent a shorthanded goal. With the power play negated, there was a brief 4-on-4, then Carolina got a man advantage of their own, which OF FUCKING COURSE they scored on. Rangers down by a pair. Rangers Twitter down bad. Really, really dark vibes.
Then while I was opening another bottle to try to numb the pain, Panarin knocked down a 'Canes clearing attempt and fired it towards the net for a Vincent Trocheck tip-in goal to get the Rangers on the board. Okay. Maybe things are turning around. NOPE.
Less than four minutes later, Sebastian Aho burned us on the rush and put the 'Canes up 3-1. It felt like a backbreaker and potentially a series-changing moment. It didn't help that Ryan Lindgren then got a breakaway, beat Freddy Anderson, but got robbed as Martinook dove into the crease and stopped the puck as it rested ON THE FUCKING GOAL LINE. You kind of felt when that happened that the hockey gods were just not big fans of New York in this one. The rest of the period belonged to Carolina, with the Rangers seeming pretty deflated and not able to generate much of anything offensively.
It continued that way for the first 7 minutes or so of the 3rd period. Rangers Twitter was completely apoplectic at this point, talking about how the team has no heart and that Chris Drury will have to break up the core this summer after their third-straight blown series playoff exit. It was fucking BLEAK. The Hurricanes had a few chances to extend the lead, but Igor (and the crossbar... and the post...) kept the puck out. And then Game 5 goat Jack Roslovic showed a flash of speed up the boards, took a hit to make a play, and shoveled the puck to a streaking Zibanejad. Mika, who was an absolute ghost for most of the game, faked like he was going to wrap around the Carolina net and instead threw the puck at a shaky Freddy Anderson's feet. It lodged between his left skate and the post, where Chris Kreider banged it home on the backhand to pull the Rangers to within a goal. A huge moment, an ugly goal, and a reminder that throwing pucks at the net late in playoff games is never a bad strategy.
About three minutes later, with the Rangers pressing, Carolina seemed to take a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. But the refs weren't sure and huddled together to talk it over. Hey, NHL! What the fuck? Why isn't this reviewable? Instead of taking five minutes to look at the replay in order to get the call right, the refs STILL TAKE FIVE MINUTES to huddle up and discuss it, but with way less information and ultimately get the call wrong. Anyway, the penalty wasn't called which seemed like a huge deal at the time, but then we got a makeup call soon after as Jordan Staal was called for a super soft cross-check on Mika (who definitely sold it). Whatever. Karma for missing the earlier clear and obvious penalty. Rangers to the power play, where they have lived or died all season long. Trailing by a goal. The weight of the New York sports world on their shoulders. What a moment. And they met it. Some glorious passing resulted in Panarin getting the puck with a clear shooting lane, flinging it towards the net, and Kreider burying it on his patented net-front deflection to TIE THE FUCKING GAME. Let's gooooo!
From that point, all the momentum seemed to swing to the Rangers favor. They had a couple of dominant shifts, capped off by a great cycle where Ryan Lindgren swooped around the net, fired a pass across the crease, and hit (who else?) Chris Kreider who bullied his way into position and capped off a NATURAL FUCKING HAT TRICK to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead with 4:19 to play.
At this point I couldn't hold it in anymore. My screaming woke the kids up, and my four-year-old daughter had to come downstairs and watch the end of this one. Honestly, this could have been terrible if Carolina had found a way to tie the game. I really hope my children never have to see me in the state I would have been in if that happened. And it almost did. Igor had to make an unreal save on a wide open Svechnikov with 2:18 to play. I think my balls were sucked into my stomach for a moment. But Igor was a brick wall. Seriously, look at this shit:
Amazing. Anyway, Barclay Goodrow then ended Butthole Clenching Time (BCT) by burying an empty net goal from distance and the Rangers advanced to their second Eastern Conference Finals in three years. What a night. What a story. What a team. What a performance by Christopher James Kreider.
Kreider is now just the third Ranger to score 3 goals in the same period of a playoff game. Wanna know who the other two were? Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. How's that for company? When they hang Kreider's number 20 in the rafters, they will talk about this game. And if somehow the Rangers actually go all the way and win the cup, this one will be glorified like the Messier guarantee game or the Matteau 2OT goal in 1994. It was that good. Speaking of 1994, the last time the Rangers won a road playoff game while trailing in the third period was in fact that Messier guarantee game in 1994. Good omen? I think so.
Anyway, thank you Chris Kreider for putting the team on your back. You're the fucking man and I always thought you should have been named the captain over Trouba. Maybe you didn't want it. I don't know. But holy shit, that was legendary.
Kreider adds three more to his franchise-leading 47 playoff goals for the Rangers. I still remember him coming up during the 2012 playoff run and setting an NHL record by scoring four playoff goals before ever playing a regular season game. He's had the clutch gene since then and it was just indescribably awesome watching it on display last night.
Can you tell I'm excited?!? Wow.
The Play of the Week
Christopher. James. Kreider.
New York Knicks
The Games
Eastern Semifinals Game 5 | Win 121-91 vs. Pacers | Lead the series 3-2
After getting decimated by injuries and then absolutely walloped in Game 4 in Indy, the Knicks looked like they might be on fumes in this series. Similar to the Rangers, the vibes had started off immaculate and soured in a hurry by Sunday evening. Would the Knicks be able to respond on their home court and push the Pacers to the brink?
"Fuck yes," said Jalen Brunson.
His 44 points were not just numbers on a stat sheet; they were a ballet of basketball brilliance that left the Indiana Pacers dazed and confused. Brunson's scoring spree in Game 5 was akin to Napoleon's strategic genius at Austerlitz or Da Vinci's masterful strokes on the Mona Lisa – pure, unadulterated excellence.
From the opening tip-off, Brunson was a man on a mission, as unstoppable as a post-Chipotle fart. He moved through the Pacers' defense like a carnitas burrito through small intestines, slicing and dicing with a series of dazzling moves reminiscent of a mad dash to the toilet.
In the first half alone, Brunson racked up 28 points, setting a new Knicks playoff record. It was a scoring spree that rivaled the ferocity of Kirk McCready attacking a case of Miller Lite on a Friday evening after a tough day at the office. The Pacers were left scrambling, bewildered, and utterly powerless against Brunson's onslaught. His seven straight points in the fourth quarter were the final nails in Indiana's coffin, a three-point play that sent Madison Square Garden into a frenzy and sealed the game with the certainty of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
But let's not forget the supporting cast who played their parts to perfection. Josh Hart was a rebounding machine, gobbling up boards like he was in the Fast Food Gauntlet, and Alec Burks emerged from the depths of the rotation to pour in 18 crucial points. Isaiah Hartenstein was a beast on the boards, his 12 offensive rebounds making me tired just watching from my couch.
The Knicks' 121-91 demolition of the Pacers was not just a win; it was a statement, a declaration that the Knicks are back and better than ever. Maybe. Possibly? Hopefully!
Coach Thibodeau's steely resolve to run his god damn players into the earth's core paid off in this masterpiece, ensuring that the Pacers were outplayed, outclassed, and outworked at every turn.
As we look ahead to Game 6, let us remember this night of triumph and bask in the afterglow of victory. The road to the Eastern Conference finals is now within reach, and with Brunson leading the charge, the Knicks are poised to carve their names into the stone tablets of NBA lore. (Or quickly swept by the Celtics, either/or). So, Knicks Nation, let's raise our glasses and toast to a night of basketball brilliance, to Jalen Brunson's Herculean heroics, and to the unstoppable, undeniable, and unyielding spirit of the New York Knicks!
The Play of the Week
Brunson with an insane 4th quarter finish.
