Rangers dominate Devils to force Game 7 in offensive explosion

The Ranges never say die.

It may have looked like this first-round series against the Devils was over following a steady decline in the Rangers’ play, which culminated in a no-show performance in the previous game, but the Blueshirts kept their season alive with a decisive 5-2 win in Game 6 Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

The pushback from the Rangers that everyone has been waiting for finally came through.

That urgency that’s been missing unfolded on the ice at key moments of the game.

The Rangers’ marquee players, and their power play, delivered when the team needed it most.

Now, it comes down to Game 7 at The Rock on Monday night. The Rangers made sure it was a do-or-die game for both clubs.

Chris Kreider was sensational in the Rangers’ most pivotal game of the season, collecting a power-play goal and two primary assists.

His game-tying goal at the end of the first period counted as the 16th of his career in potential elimination games, which tied Mark Messier for the NHL record in that category.

The longest tenured Ranger scored in three of the club’s six elimination games last season, as well, proving just how clutch Kreider has been for this team when their backs are against the wall.

After Kreider snapped the Rangers’ 0-for-14 streak on the power play to knot the game at one-all, Mika Zibanejad scored his first goal of the series just over 10 minutes into the middle frame to give his team a 2-1 lead, their first since the second period of Game 3.

The Garden came alive after that one. There hadn’t been much to cheer for in this building when the ice was down, but the Rangers had the fans on their feet.

Vladimir Tarasenko, who was promoted to the top line and the first power-play unit ahead of this elimination game, proved to be more than worthy of the extra ice time.

It’s an adjustment that probably should’ve been made a couple games ago, but Tarasenko netted a dagger at the end of the second with a snipe from the high slot after assisting on Zibanejad’s 2-1 score earlier in the frame.

The line changes simply made for better matchups against the Devils, who were then stifled by Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and his 34 saves.

The Devils did get off to another fast start, scoring the first goal of the game for the fourth time in this series. The first period turned out to be their best 20 minutes of the game as the Rangers started to look more like the team that started this series like a bat out of hell.

That much was evident in the way the Rangers received secondary scoring from fourth-liner Barclay Goodrow and defenseman Braden Schneider, whose goals in the third period ended Devils rookie netminder Akira Schmid’s night early.

Vitek Vanecek, who was pulled after tough showings in the first two games, replaced him in goal for the final 7:32 of regulation.

The Rangers salvaged their season for at least one more game.

They’ll have to do it all again Monday if they want to advance.

Persist. Persist. Persist.