Rangers secure spot in conference finals after stunning third-period comeback over Hurricanes

The Rangers, who seemingly had the second-round series in hand after jumping out to a 3-0 series lead, found themselves behind by two goals in the third period on Thursday. 

Mere minutes away from having to return home to play a deciding Game 7, Kreider stepped up, creating a defining moment in the franchise's already rich history. 

With New York trailing to start the third period, Kreider tallied three consecutive goals over nine minutes and two seconds of game action, pulling the Rangers ahead by one with 4:19 left.

Kreider's heroics helped him join Hall of Famers Mark Messier (1994) and Wayne Gretzky (1997) as the only Rangers to score a playoff hat trick in one period. 

The big night from Kreider also got his struggling linemates going. The trio of Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Jack Roslovic had combined for only one point over the previous two games but had six on Thursday (three goals, three assists). 

Meanwhile, the Rangers' other top line, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, bounced back, too. After also recording only a point between the three of them in Game 4 and Game 5, they contributed a goal and three assists in the victory. 

The performance between the pipes from goaltender Igor Shesterkin was not to be overlooked. The 28-year-old turned away 33 Hurricanes shots, making several huge saves down the stretch.

Conversely, the Hurricanes' once-promising season ended in one of the worst ways possible. After falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, they rallied back and, for a time, looked to have forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday. 

Early goals by Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho, paired with one of the best saves in playoff history from Jordan Martinook, weren't enough to save the Hurricanes from their fate. 

After carrying much of the momentum throughout, things started to go the Rangers' way in the third period and soon careened out of control. 

Meanwhile, several shots hit the post behind Shesterkin late, but neither found their way past the goal line, leaving Carolina with an offseason to ponder what could have been. 

Regardless of how they got there, the Rangers' stunning victory sends the franchise to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons. They'll face the winner of the other conference semifinal, which the Florida Panthers currently lead 3-2 over the Boston Bruins.