RALEIGH, N.C. - Exactly what was said during second intermission of one of the most memorable wins in Rangers' history is much less significant then what happened after, but it will forever be etched in franchise folklore.

Legend has it, the usually stoic Chris Kreider stood up in front of his teammates and proclaimed, "I'm going to go get one." The 33-year-old forward glossed over a question asking him to confirm the rumor that was floating around a jubilant visitors' locker room at PNC Arena on Thursday, but Vincent Trocheck leaned into the mic to offer his own affirmative answer.

As it turned out, the Rangers' elder statesman got himself three, with his epic natural hat trick propelling New York to a 5-3 comeback win to close out its second-round series with the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.

"That is just a monster third period," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "He put it on his back and really delivered."

A stunning final period sent the Blueshirts to their second Eastern Conference Final in the last three years.

They were largely outplayed by the surging Canes for 40-plus minutes and entered the third trailing by two, then rattled off four unanswered goals to silence a shell-shocked home crowd.

"There wasn't a whole lot said after the second," Trocheck said. "It was just that we knew that wasn't the way we needed to play in order to win hockey games, especially against a team like that. We just had to go out there and make a decision in the third period to either show up and play and be a part of the series, or don’t. I think we had 20 guys show up in the third."

Kreider was at the center of that effort, willing the Rangers by netting three goals in a head-spinning span of 8:58.

That erased a 3-1 deficit while making him the third player in franchise history to record a hat trick in a series-clinching win, joining Mike Gartner (1990) and Steve Vickers (1973). He also became the third Blueshirt to score three goals in a single playoff period, matching the feat of hockey legends Wayne Gretzky (1997) and Mark Messier (1994).

"I don’t have to say anything," said an astonished Artemi Panarin. "He said everything by himself on the ice."

Barclay Goodrow capped New York's 33rd comeback of the season with an empty-netter.

That prevented the Rangers from losing their third straight and having to deal with the pressure of Game 7 on Saturday. Instead, they’ll rest up over the weekend and await the winner of the ongoing Boston-Florida series, which the Panthers currently lead 3-2.

"It means we get to play more hockey," said the ever-humble Kreider while making a fruitless effort to hold back a smile.

'You don't really see him stress'

From the moment Mika Zibanejad arrived in New York via trade from Ottawa in 2016, there was an instant connection with his soon-to-be inseparable linemate.

Both introverts by nature, Zibanejad quickly grew to admire Kreider’s subtle leadership style.

"He was the one showing me around and taking me in and helping me out," Zibanejad recalled. "Obviously, I got one of my best friends for life from it. He means a lot to the team and he means a lot to me and this organization and this city."

Now in his 12th season with the same franchise, Kreider is a modern-day Mr. Ranger.

He's the team's longest-tenured player following the 2020 departure of Henrik Lundqvist, and while he's far from the most vocal Blueshirt − especially not in front of the cameras − his unwavering commitment to his craft, thoughtful presence behind the scenes and singular focus on winning has placed him among the most respected figures in the locker room.

"There’s a reason why he has been here his whole career," Zibanejad said. "On the ice, off the ice, the way he prepares himself, the way he is as a teammate. I think he knows this place in and out better than anyone. He’s gone through different times with this organization, with this team, and he’s still here."

Having Kreider come through on this stage felt fitting.

He's methodically working his way toward having his No. 20 hang from the Madison Square Garden rafters, with this legacy game topping his list of signature moments. His 47 career playoff goals rank first in Rangers' history, which speaks to his ability to stay present and block out external pressure.

Never was that more evident than Thursday night in Raleigh.

"You don’t really see him stress," Zibanejad said. "Even though sometimes it feels like we don’t have much, you don’t need much to kind of get something going. He’s great with that, too, with our line – to just kind of keep working, and eventually, it’ll come. I’m extremely happy for him to be able to perform like this in a game like this. I’m also very thankful for that performance to come at that time."

Falling behind

For two periods, Game 6 appeared to be heading in a much different direction.

The defensive breakdowns that stung the Rangers in their previous two losses were once again rearing their head, most notably their penchant for allowing odd-man rushes. They ranked 29th in the league in expected-goals against off the rush in five-on-five during the regular season, according to Clear Sight Analytics, which was one of their primary issues during a difficult January, the only month in which they posted a losing record.

They cleaned it up as the season went on, but it was a glaring issue Thursday.

"We obviously didn’t love the way we played the first two periods," Trocheck said.

Jordan Martinook got the Hurricanes rolling by winning a puck battle behind the Rangers' net and sending a nifty feed in front to Martin Necas, who beat defenseman Ryan Lindgren to the net and finished to make it 1-0 with 1:22 remaining in the opening period.

The Canes didn't sit on that lead in the second, rather pushing to pad it with 13 shots on goal and six high-danger scoring chances in the middle 20 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The first of only two Rangers' power plays was cut short when Kreider was whistled for cross-checking Seth Jarvis and shoving him into Igor Shesterkin on a shorthanded rush. Carolina capitalized on the ensuing power play when Jarvis netted a Sebastian Aho rebound to make it 2-0 with 15:22 remaining in the period.

There were brief signs of life for the Blueshirts when Trocheck tipped in a shot from Panarin to cut the deficit to 2-1 less a minute later, but momentum didn't last long.

The Hurricanes pounced when K'Andre Miller got caught pinching too far up the ice, with Andrei Svechnikov setting up Aho to finish the two-on-one rush and up the lead to 3-1 with 10:37 left in the second period.

As the Rangers entered the third period having recorded 14 total shots, including just three in the first, they were staring down the possibility of going home to play Game 7.

"To be honest, I was kind of feeling nervous on the bench when we were a couple goals down," Panarin admitted.

A near goal

The Rangers nearly got one back at the 13:03 mark of the second period, when Kreider slipped a no-look pass to propel Lindgren on a breakaway.

His backhanded shot trickled in between Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen's legs and was heading toward the goal line, but Martinook made a play that would have haunted the Blueshirts if the series didn't go their way. He dove and cleared the puck just before it crossed, preventing a goal that would have cut New York's deficit to one-goal with nearly half the game still to play.

The makings of a comeback

That was one of several plays that made it feel like the Hurricanes were heading toward a third straight win.

The way the game was going, they could have scored four or five goals and taken a more commanding lead. In fact, they outshot New York in all six games of this series, including 16 in Thursday's third period. But Shesterkin withstood the pressure to keep the Rangers within striking distance, finishing with 33 saves to allow them to mount an unforgettable comeback.

"Our guys have been there before, done that before," Laviolette said. "We knew that we could score two goals in the third period, just from the confidence in the year that we’ve had. That being said, you have to go out and do the work. I thought our guys really pressed in the third period."

Captain Jacob Trouba described the mood in the locker room heading into the final period as "calm."

"No one was in here freaking out or yelling," he said. "It was just, 'Go out and play 20 minutes how we play. Get one in the first 10 (minutes) and we think we can get a second one.' … I don’t think there was really any panic or frustration."

The Canes were hunting for a fourth goal to begin the period, but Shesterkin made early stops on Jalen Chatfield, Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen to thwart those attempts, plus a Jake Guentzel shot that hit the post.

"Igor made some monster saves in the third at the right time," Laviolette said.

The rally began innocently enough, with Kreider − who began the day as a question mark after not practicing Wednesday for maintenance reasons − following a Zibanejad shot and jamming the rebound past Andersen with 13:17 to play.

"Chris Kreider woke up," Panarin said with a smirk.

The Rangers started to buzz from there and generate long offensive-zone possessions, forcing a key mistake from the Hurricanes.

Carolina had neutralized New York's potent power play and held them off the board for three straight games by making a few penalty-kill adjustments and staying out of the box to limit their opportunities. The Canes had only been called for one penalty entering the third period, but the second − Jordan Staal's cross-check on Zibanejad with 9:02 remaining − sent their season spiraling toward its end.

Kreider cashed in on the ensuing power play by tipping a Panarin wrist shot past Andersen to tie the score at 3-3, snapping a mini 0-for-9 PP drought.

"They have really good faceoff men, so there were some things we had to make adjustments on faceoffs to try to give me a little help winning draws and get some possession time," Trocheck explained. "And then from there, it was just a matter of, they stopped being as aggressive as they usually are. So, it was kind of trying to slow the game down a little bit, which typically we don't want to do. But we’ve got some elite, skilled top-three guys in (Adam Fox), Mika and (Panarin). Whenever we have the puck in their hands and they're able to slow the game down, things are going to work."

Kreider finished off the hat trick and gave the Blueshirts the lead for good with 4:19 to play by posting up in his net-front office and banging in a wraparound pass from Lindgren. That completed the comeback and provided yet another example of this group's uncanny knack for coming through in the clutch.

As a result, the resilient Rangers are marching on in pursuit of their first Stanley Cup in 30 years.

"I think there’s just belief in the room and trust in the guys that’s been built over the time that we’ve spent together here," Trouba said. "We know what’s on the line. We only get so many cracks at it. We wanted to end this thing tonight after letting it slip away in New York (in Game 5 on Monday). That was the focus, and we knew we had one more period to get it done."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Chris Kreider hat trick propels Rangers comeback in Game 6