This day meant a lot, in so many ways.
With their postseason hopes hanging in the balance, the Rangers came out with another inspired performance, taking Game 6 with a 3-1 win over the Penguins on Sunday night at the Garden, extending this second-round series to a decisive Game 7 on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
And, on Mother’s Day, it was Martin St. Louis playing with a heavy heart, as his mother, France, died on Thursday at the age of 63, and St. Louis flew in his mourning father and sister for this game.
“This day is obviously special for me, to have my dad and my sister here,” St. Louis said before the game. “I think it helps the healing process.”
What helped the Rangers, and what could have saved their postseason from what was looking like an abrupt end, was St. Louis coming back for Friday’s season-saving 5-1 Game 5 win in Pittsburgh.
The momentum and motivation from that emotional affair carried over, and even St. Louis knew how important that would be.
“We’re going to need that,” St. Louis said. “I know it was emotional the other day, but you have to play this game with emotion. I’m looking forward to nothing short of a lot of emotion.”
The emotion was tempered a bit as the game wound to its end, the Rangers holding onto a 3-1 lead for most of the third period with stout defense and more tenacity from goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who played a whirlwind of a game, fiery hot with anger at both the over-aggressive Penguins and the passive referees — all while stopping every puck that came at him except one, a bizarre bounce that went in off an out-of-position defenseman, Kevin Klein.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the team, accepting that challenge that the season is on the line,” said Lundqvist, who took his record to 9-2 in the past 11 elimination games, and came in with a .953 save percentage and a 1.38 goals-against average in the past 10.
“You have to go out and earn it every night,” he said. “And you don’t count on what you did in the past, the last couple games. You just have to go out and do it again.”
The second period was 20 minutes that took this series to a whole new level of intensity, with post-whistle scrums not only becoming more prevalent, but more personal. Derick Brassard got the Rangers out to a 3-1 lead when he batted home a loose puck left out by Marc-Andre Fleury, and his fourth goal of playoffs was a big one.
Because from there, the Rangers played with the lead with the desperation this situation warranted. All the animosity boiled over at the end of the period, when Sidney Crosby gave Dominic Moore a stick to the nether-region, and the ensuing scrum had Chris Kunitz attacking Moore, Marc Staal attacking Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin attacking Staal — and finally Brian Boyle ripping Crosby’s helmet off.
As Lundqvist skated by going to the bench, he dumped some water out of his bottle on Crosby’s head, just for good measure.
“I’m sure everybody is well aware of what’s at stake,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “We continue to play or we don’t play. That’s on the line.”
The Rangers opened the game on fire, and wouldn’t you know it, St. Louis got the game-opening goal. Just 3:34 in, St. Louis made a great pass to Anton Stralman, whose shot from the slot was saved, and then when Derek Stepan fired a backhand, it was tipped, up and off St. Louis’ leg and in, giving the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead.
“You want to be upbeat,” St. Louis said. “It’s got to be a positive vibe, and there is.”
The vibes only got better, as less than three minutes later, Carl Hagelin got his fourth of the postseason on a floating backhand that snuck between the arm and body of Fleury, igniting the crowd with a 2-0 lead.
Soon thereafter, the Rangers were up in shots, 12-3, and then the push from the Penguins began. Gaining momentum from a power play that was a result of a bad Kreider roughing penalty — albeit one that was horribly indulged by the recipient, Jussi Jokinen — the Penguins kept up the pressure and cut the lead in half with a long shot from Brandon Sutter that bounced off Moore and then off the leg of Klein and in.
Lundqvist showed his frustration with Klein by waving a hand at him, and going into the second, the game was far from over.
“If you’re Pittsburgh, you don’t want to get to a Game 7 [and] if you’re us, you want to get to a Game 7,” Vigneault said. “We’re going to see the most intense game of the series.”
The coach was right, and now the Rangers have one more game to go and they find themselves in the conference finals.