Things certainly didn’t look great for Chris Kreider and the New York Rangers heading into the third period Thursday night. They were ahead 3-2 in their Second Round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, but trailing 3-1 in the game.
Carolina had been outplaying them for several periods at this point and the Rangers looked like they would have to head back to Madison Square Garden for a Game 7 this weekend. But, Chris Kreider had other ideas, as he put together one of the most memorable periods of postseason hockey ever.
He put the team on his back and carried them to victory. What was a 3-1 deficit was eventually turned into a 4-3 lead, all courtesy of their veteran. Chris Kreider scored three goals in the period, which put him in a league of his own.
According to OptaSTATS, Kreider is the first player in Stanley Cup Playoff history with a natural hat trick in the third period to single-handily turn a two-goal deficit into a lead. He left Hurricanes fans devastated as they watched their season slip away at the hands of one player.
Chris Kreider now has 10 points in 10 postseason games, scoring seven goals with three assists. None are bigger than the three he scored in Game 6, as that helped propel New York into the Eastern Conference Finals.
There they will face off against either the Florida Panthers or Boston Bruins. Their Second Round series is still going on, as Florida holds a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 in Boston on Friday night.
