PITTSBURGH — New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault had trouble finding the words to describe goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
“He’s OK,” Vigneault said finally with a small shake of his head.
Except that is, in Game 7s. In Game 7s, Lundqvist is unbeatable.
And so are the Rangers.
Frustrating Sidney Crosby and the reeling Pittsburgh Penguins one final time, Lundqvist made 35 saves to lift New York to a 2-1 win on Tuesday night and give his resilient team an unlikely spot in the Eastern Conference finals.
“I was so tired at the end,” Lundqvist said after setting an NHL record with his fifth straight Game 7 triumph. “But it was just a great feeling when you know it’s a done deal and we did it.”
Brian Boyle and Brad Richards scored for New York, which rallied from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in the franchise’s 88-year history.
The Rangers did it behind Lundqvist, who stopped 102 of the final 105 shots he faced over the final three games as New York advanced to the conference finals for the second time in three years.
The three-time All-Star is 10-2 when facing elimination.
He was at his best during a mad scramble in front of the Rangers’ net with just over 5 minutes left, when he turned aside three shots from three different angles in a matter of seconds to preserve a one-goal lead.
“He was OK with guys being on top of him as long as we didn’t take penalties,” New York defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “He fought through screens, fought for loose pucks. He was incredible.”
The Rangers will play the winner of the Bruins-Canadiens series in the conference finals. That series is tied 3-3 and Game 7 is Wednesday night in Boston.
Jussi Jokinen scored his team-high seventh goal of the postseason for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury made 18 saves for the Penguins, who outshot New York 36-20, but were outscored 10-3 over the final three games.
Pittsburgh fell to 2-7 all time at home in Game 7s, including three such losses in the past five seasons.
This one might have been the most painful for the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and coach Dan Bylsma that seemed pointed toward a dynasty after winning the 2009 Stanley Cup.
Crosby, who led the league in scoring and is an MVP finalist, managed just one goal in 13 playoffs games.
Just as importantly, five springs have now come and gone without Pittsburgh getting a Cup to bookend the one they hoisted that giddy night in Detroit and changes could be on the way.
The Penguins are just 4-5 in playoff series over the past five seasons, with each loss coming to lower-seeded teams. Not exactly the expected outcome for a roster scattered with top-end talent that hasn’t met expectations.
While Bylsma declined to take the wide-angle view, his captain understood the dressing room could have a very different look next fall.
“I think there’s always questions,” Crosby said. “When expectations are high and you don’t win that’s normal. I’m sure there will be a lot of questions.”
BLACKHAWKS 2, WILD 1, OT
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Patrick Kane scored on a backhand at 9:42 of overtime to lift Chicago over Minnesota in Game 6 to clinch their second-round Western Conference series.
Kris Versteeg scored at 1:58 of the first and Corey Crawford came up with tough save after tough save among his 34 stops for the Blackhawks, who advanced to the Western Conference finals to meet either Anaheim or Los Angeles. Anaheim leads that series 3-2 and Game 6 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Erik Haula scored and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots for the Wild, who pushed a frenetic pace for much of the night but missed prime chances to score.
They paid for it in the extra period, when a simple dump-in by Brent Seabrook took an unusual bounce back toward the slot. The puck slid past Peter Regin but not Kane, who deked once and flipped it into the net.
