Rangers clinch Stanley Cup Playoff berth, defeat Senators

NEW YORK --The New York Rangers clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by defeating the Ottawa Senators 5-1 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

The Rangers were last in the postseason in 2020, when they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Prior to that, they reached the Eastern Conference Second Round in 2017, losing in six games against the Senators.
"You look at our roster, you've got some of the best players in the world, some young talent, a little bit of everything, probably the best goalie in the world," Rangers center Ryan Strome said. "I mean, it's time, and we took that first step. You don't want to get too high on this emotion, but especially the way the last few years have gone it's a good feeling tonight."
Chris Kreider scored two goals to give him 49, Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists, and Igor Shesterkin made 21 saves for the Rangers (47-20-6), who have won three straight games and are 7-1-1 in their past nine.
New York is tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division with the Hurricanes, each with 100 points. Carolina has a game in hand and the teams play at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
"We have Carolina next, right," Kreider said. "Tonight, enjoy it a little bit, be proud of ourselves, but we want home ice. Keep pushing, keep climbing."

Austin Watson scored his fourth goal in five games, and Anton Forsberg made 28 saves for the Senators (26-39-6), who are 3-2-0 in the past five games. Ottawa has already been eliminated from playoff contention.
"We knew on the way in there was going to be some tough nights and tonight was one of them for sure," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "There was just not enough of what we usually have, which is our track, our compete, all those things. They beat us to all the loose pucks. They were the better team wire to wire."
Watson's goal gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the first period, scoring from the slot off Mark Kastelic's pass from behind the goal line.
It was the Senators first shot on goal. They had only two more in the period and nine through the first two periods before forcing Shesterkin to make 12 saves in the third.
"That's the loudest building we've had this year on a Saturday night and their team rewarded them for that," Smith said. "We didn't have a lot going tonight and they did."
Panarin tied it 1-1 at 12:32 with an unassisted goal. Strome lost the face-off in the right circle but Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom passed the puck to Panarin at the right hash marks for the quick goal.

Andrew Copp gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 6:56 of the second period. He converted from the right circle after Panarin found him with a rink-wide pass from the half-wall.
Panarin has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 10 games since March 22. He has 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists) in 35 games since Jan. 15.
Strome said Panarin's performance Saturday was the best he's seen from the forward, who has 88 points (21 goals, 67 assists) in 68 games this season.
"He was making plays all night, controlling it," Strome said. "I mean, that's a world-class effort. When there are multiple guys on the bench sitting beside you saying, 'Oh my God, look what he's doing tonight,' you know it's a good night."
Kreider scored his 48th goal at 9:05 to make it 3-1. He got the puck from Ryan Lindgren off the rush and beat Forsberg from the top of the left circle.
Strome's goal from the front of the net made it 4-1 at 17:27. Panarin drove wide down the left wing past Senators defenseman Artem Zub and got the puck behind the goal line before feeding Strome in front for the redirection.
Kreider scored again at 17:31 of the third period for the 5-1 final.
"From start to finish it was an excellent game, I liked everything about it," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how you get in the playoffs, but it was nice we came to the rink wanting to win and get in the playoffs. That's what we did."

Kreider's 49 goals are 21 more than his previous single-season career high (28 goals in 2016-17 and 2018-19). He needs one to become the fourth 50-goal scorer in Rangers history, joining Jaromir Jagr (54 in 2005-06), Adam Graves (52 in 1993-94) and Vic Hadfield (50 in 1971-72).
"We kind of did hope that it would happen today, but we're not going to wish on it so not to jinx it," Panarin said. "Obviously, the whole team is just rooting for him. We're waiting."
NOTES:The Rangers came back to win for an NHL-best 26th time, also setting a franchise record. … New York forward Kaapo Kakko played 13:01 after missing 31 games with an upper-body injury. … Rangers forward Kevin Rooney had two shots on goal, two hits and one blocked shot in 15:27 of ice time after missing 18 games with an upper-body injury. … Senators forward Dylan Gambrell had two shots on goal and two hits in 12:49 of ice time after missing one game with a non-COVID illness. … Copp has four points (two goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak, and has scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 10 games since being acquired from the Winnipeg Jets on March 21.