Calgary also beat Dallas in overtime, during which Johnny Gaudreau scored 3:2 in the 76th minute for the home side.

Rangers led Chris Kreider’s re-scoring goal from the eighth minute but were down 1-2 midway through the game. Danton Heinen called on the power play and Jake Guentzel finished eighth in the series after a pass from Sidney Crosby, who was out with injury in the final game. In just 65 seconds, K’Andre Miller equalized, whose shot ended in goal after rebounds from the Pittsburgh duo.

Under another change of score, he signed a rough hook. Evan Rodrigues caught the Czech forward on the defensive blue line and Pittsburgh took a 3-2 lead late in the second period. However, Mika Zibanejad failed to connect, as his teammates had hoped, and the ball went out.

“My teammates have forced me to finish more since the first game. To my detriment, I don’t shoot as often. I should probably take their advice,” Panarin said. Igor Šesťorkin supported the victory with 42 interventions, Zibanejad scored three points (1 + 2) and became the most productive player in the series (3 + 8). Rangers have made it through the first round for the first time since 2017 and in the next phase of the playoffs they will face Carolina.

Pittsburgh did not reach a well-started series in which they led 3:1. They even won the last three games, but the Rangers always turned the tables.

“I think we played the right way when we were leading. We played a great game today and anything could happen. But we didn’t score an extra goal and we were unlucky for the rebounds and that probably decided,” said Crosby, who with the help he tied in the all-time playoff productivity chart in fifth place Jaromír Jágr. Both have 201 points.

Dallas opened the scoring after forty seconds with a Jamie Benn hit from the ring. Calgary tied Tyler Toffoli early in the second period but took the next rotation. Vladislav Naměstnikov returned the direction of the renumbering. The home side led 2 – 2 after 29 minutes as Jacob Markström broke through and scored with a superb volley after a cross from the right side.

Dallas was held in the game by goaltender Jake Oettinger, and the tie stood until the 76th minute, when Gaudreau decided with a sharp shot. He took advantage of Calgary’s heavy shooting activity (67:28) and advanced to the second round, where the Flames will face Edmonton.

“We deserved to win,” said Calgary coach Darryl Sutter, who improved his balance in Game 7 to 8-3. “They played hard, they made it difficult for us. We had to fight for every piece of ice, and when Johnny scored it was one of the best feelings I’ve had in hockey,” Tkachuk said. Gaudreau added that he had always dreamed of deciding Game 7.

The big hurdle for Calgary in the entire series has been Oettinger, who scored just 13 goals and covered 64 shots in the deciding game, the second most in Game 7 NHL playoff history. Kelly Hrudey holds the record with 73 hits since 1987.

“It’s sad that we’re done, but we can hold our heads up high,” Oettinger said. “With Jake’s form, we knew they had to shoot perfectly in overtime to beat him. It happened. Johnny hit just under the crossbar, there was nothing he could do about it,” the Dallas coach said , Rick Bowness.

The NHL season ended with the elimination of Stars Radek Faks, who are being talked about as a possible reinforcement for the Czech national team at the World Cup. But his health is also a question, because from the third period he did not start due to problems in the upper part of the body.

The other two pairs form Florida with Tampa Bay and Colorado with St. Louis. Their series will open on Tuesday night for the NHL playoff quarterfinals.

1st round of the NHL playoffs:

Eastern Conference – Game 7:

NY Rangers – Pittsburgh 4:3 in overtime (1:1, 1:2, 1:0 – 1:0)

Goals: 8. Kreider, 32. Miller, 55. Zibanejad, 65. Panarin – 19. Heinen, 31. Guentzel, 38. Rodrigues. Shots on goal: 30:45. Attendance: 18,006. Stars of the match: 1. Panarin, 2. Zibanejad (both NY Rangers), 3. Rodrigues (Pittsburgh). Final series score: 4:3.

Western Conference – Game 7:

Calgary – Dallas 3:2 in overtime (0:1, 2:1, 0:0 – 1:0)

Goals: 22. Toffoli, 29. M. Tkachuk, 76. J. Gaudreau – 1. Jamie Benn, 23. MP. Shots on goal: 67:28. Stars of the match: 1. J. Gaudreau (Calgary), 2. Oettinger (Dallas), 3. Markström (Calgary). Final series score: 4:3.