RALEIGH, N.C. — Chris Kreider scored twice, Igor Shesterkin was strong in net again and the New York Rangers ended Carolina’s perfect postseason run at home, beating the Hurricanes 6-2 in the decisive Game 7 of their second-round playoff series Monday night.

Shesterkin — a finalist for the for both the Vezina Trophy for the league’s top goalie and Hart Trophy for most valuable player — finished with 36 saves and carried the shutout well into the third period. That included one stop from flat on his back on Sebastian Aho near the right post. Shesterkin snagged the puck between his legs flailing, as if trying to make a snow angel late in the first period.

Kreider and Adam Fox had first-period power-play goals as the Rangers raced to a quick lead. The Rangers then rode Shesterkin’s latest offense-stymieing performance to win a fifth straight elimination game in these playoffs. Ryan Strome and Filip Chytil also scored in what became an unexpected rout, with Andrew Copp adding a late empty-netter.

New York advances to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2015, earning a matchup with two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay. New York will host Game 1 of that series Wednesday night.

The Hurricanes were slowed by losing goaltender Antti Raanta and top-line rookie forward Seth Jarvis to injury. Jarvis took a jarring high hit in the first period and Raanta went down went down with a lower-body injury while stretching out his right leg for a stop in the second. Neither returned to the game.

Raanta had 16 saves before his injury, and rookie Pyotr Kochetkov allowed three goals on 12 shots in relief.

More impressively, the Rangers’ win came in an arena where the Hurricanes had gone 7-0 in the playoffs, including the first three meetings in this series.

New York Coach Gerard Gallant said Sunday he had a group of players who “have a lot of fun and they believe in themselves.” They looked as if they were doing plenty of both Monday in capping a second straight comeback win from a multi-game deficit.

First, they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat Pittsburgh in a seven-game first-round series. Then, after falling in an 0-2 hole in this series, New York responded with more resilience to reach the Eastern finals.

Tony DeAngelo finally beat Shesterkin midway through the third period. And in a sign of what kind of night it was, the Rangers followed with Chytil’s goal just 40 seconds later to push the margin to 5-1.

Max Domi also scored a late goal for the Hurricanes.

It was a rough night all around for Carolina, beyond the Rangers pouncing on those early man-advantage opportunities for the quick 2-0 lead, which matched the Rangers’ goal output for the first three games in Raleigh.

NOTES

LIGHTNING: More than a week off between playoff games can seem like an eternity for any team.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning are hoping the extended break they earned with a second-round sweep of the Florida Panthers will benefit them in their quest for a three-peat.

By the time they open the Eastern Conference final Wednesday night against the New York Rangers, the Lightning will not have played since May 23.

“People always ask is it better to have time off or not,” Coach Jon Cooper said. “I guess the true answer comes depending on the next series, and how you play.”

The defending champs, in the East final for the sixth time in eight years, feel they have the leadership and experience to handle the team’s longest layoff between postseason games in more than a decade.

“You’re not really expecting this much time off at this time of year. You look at the positives,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “Guys can get some rest and recover and hopefully get as healthy as we can before we start the next round.”

The Lightning have won six straight games, moving from the brink of elimination against Toronto in the first round to another appearance in the conference final.

More than a week off invites the prospect of players falling out of synch because of an interruption to the team’s regular routine.

Cooper, however, stressed that regardless of what happens, the Lightning needed time to rest and allow injured players a chance to get healthier.

“We’ve gone through a couple of wars here in our series, so it’s pivotal for us to have this break now,” Cooper said.

“The downside of it is no matter what you do in practice, you’re not ever going to come close to emulating what goes on in a playoff game. So, you lose that,” Cooper added. “You just hope don’t lose your edge. We’ve got enough of a veteran group, we should be able to get through that.”

This hiatus is the longest the Lightning have had between playoff series since they got nine days off following a second-round sweep of the Washington Capitals in 2011.

That time, Tampa Bay wound up losing the next series to Boston in seven games.

“We’re professional enough to know what to expect come (Wednesday). We’re excited about that opportunity,” defenseman Victor Hedman said. “We are ready to get back into the game action, obviously, but you’re not going to say no if you get a couple of extra days off for having won four straight (against Florida).”

Going back to the start of the 2020 postseason, Tampa Bay has won 10 consecutive playoff series. In addition to chasing a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final, they are trying to become the first team to win three straight titles since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83.

“We know what it takes, we know how hard it is to get where we are right now,” said forward Pat Maroon, who won the Cup with St. Louis in 2019 before joining the Lightning for their championship run two years ago.

“No matter who we’re going to play,” Maroon added, looking ahead to facing the Hurricanes or Rangers next, “they’re both really good teams.”

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