Chris Kreider's 3rd period hat trick wills Rangers to Eastern Conference Final as Hurricanes stunned in Game 6

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Chris Kreider, the New York Rangers veteran center, willed his team to the Eastern Conference Finals in a miraculous third-period, come-from-behind victory in Game 6 over the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3. 

The Rangers were down 3-1 heading into the third period on the road, and all signs were pointing to the Hurricanes battling all the way back from a 3-0 deficit in the series to a Game 7. The only remedy for the Rangers was to get gritty around the net, and find a way – any way – to get the puck in the net. 

Kreider has made a living in the NHL getting tough goals, and he stepped up when his team needed it, scoring three of them to give the Rangers the lead late in the third period. 

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Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers moves the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game Six of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 16, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Yes, he scored a hat trick in one period. A legendary performance by a franchise great. 

The first of Kreider’s three goals in the period came 6:43 minutes into the most wild 20 minutes of this second-round series. Mika Zibanejad just threw the puck toward Hurricanes goalie Freddie Anderson as he cycled around his net, and it stuck on Anderson’s left skate. 

Kreider, who was charging toward the crease, saw the puck and simply slapped his stick at it before Anderson could get his glove down to ice it. That made it 3-2, and the Rangers started to smell some life despite rough first and second periods where Carolina was dominating. 

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