NHL playoff scores 2017: Senators eliminate Rangers with Game 6 win

The Ottawa Senators booked their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final with a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers in Game 6 on Tuesday night. The victory clinches a 4-2 series victory for the Senators, who are making their deepest playoff run since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2007.

Erik Karlsson naturally played a starring role in the victory, using this postseason to remind everyone he’s one of the best players in hockey. That was always the case over the past few years, but Karlsson’s left little room for his critics with his glowing play over the past month. It turns out the best defenseman of his generation can win playoff games, too.

Karlsson recorded a goal, an assist, and three shots on goal in Game 6 to lead the way. He’s up to 13 points in 12 playoff games, which puts him tied for fourth among all players. The next defenseman up behind him, Ryan Ellis, has nine points in 10 games.

When Karlsson is on the ice during 5-on-5 play this postseason, the Senators outscore opponents, 14-7, per Natural Stat Trick. When he’s off, the Senators get outscored, 18-9. Slowing down the Sens’ star defenseman is the key to beating them.

The Senators also got production from Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman, who scored first-period goals to give the team a 2-0 lead. Stone, a 22-goal scorer during the regular season, struggled early in the postseason with just three points in his first 10 games. Now the winger has scored goals in back-to-back games to get back on track.

The Rangers held a 39-26 shot advantage in the game, led by Rick Nash’s six shots, but couldn’t beat Craig Anderson more than twice. That wasn’t enough with Henrik Lundqvist posting a .880 save percentage in the loss.

New York now has a long offseason to figure out how to reload to extend the Cup window while Lundvqist is still around. The team has over $60 million in cap space tied up for 2017-18, per Cap Friendly, so changes would require a major overhaul. After falling short against Ottawa, maybe they’ll consider it.

Senators 4, Rangers 2 (Ottawa wins series, 4-2)

In terms of 5-on-5 play, Game 6 was extremely close. The Senators lost the battle in shot attempts (46-37) but recorded more shots on goal (24-22) and goals (3-2). However, it’s when shorthanded that Ottawa really played its best hockey to eliminate the Rangers.

New York got four power plays on Tuesday, yet failed to score a goal on any of them. This includes a four-minute power play in the first period that could’ve swung the game in a much different direction. It continued a trend of poor PP performance for the Rangers in the playoffs.

During the regular season, the Senators didn’t have a great PK. They were 22nd in kill rate at 79.7 percent. But they just went 26-of-28 (93 percent) against the Rangers in six games. If you’re looking for reasons why Ottawa won, the penalty kill is up there.

By most measures, it should be surprising the Senators won this series in six games. The Rangers had more goals (20-19) and more shots on goal (214-190). They scored more goals during the Senators’ power plays than Ottawa did. Lundvqist had a higher save percentage than Anderson.

And yet!

It’s a reminder of how anything can happen in a seven-game series — and the importance of timing in all that. The Senators got blown out twice in this series, but won four close games (including two in overtime) that allowed them to sneak by the Rangers.

Part of that was the Senators smartly trying to expose Lundvqist’s high short side blocker with their limited chances, but they also got goals at the right times, and New York didn’t have the same fortune. Sometimes, when two teams are closely matched up, that’s what swings the tide.

The Senators played Neil for just the second time since February in Game 5 to give their team a spark, which elicited quite the reaction from some fans and media. It “worked,” as the Senators won in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead, so Neil got the nod again Tuesday for Game 6.

Well, sort of. Neil played just 1:49 in the game as the Senators decided it would be smarter to use players who would do more than throw their weight around. That’s pretty much what you get from Neil, who recorded 42 shots in 53 games this season, and Ottawa didn’t really need it once it took a 2-0 lead in the first period.

The result was the Senators basically rolling with 11 forwards most of the night, and 10 for large chunks with Viktor Stalberg also glued to the bench. Coach Guy Boucher decided to lean on his big names instead, and it worked.

Very good, indeed.