RALEIGH, N.C. — About eight hours before the puck dropped on Monday night, Jacob Trouba was asked about playing the villain. 

“I don’t really think much about it, I guess,” he said. “I play the way I’ve always played. I guess I haven’t really thought about it till you asked me that question.” 

Far be it from anyone to get inside Trouba’s mind. But after a dominating 6-2 Rangers victory over the Hurricanes in Game 7 to send them to their first conference final since 2015, it’s hard to believe that didn’t cross into the defenseman’s head at any point during the night. 

For the second time in four games, Trouba made a game-changing hit. For the second time in as many playoff series, Trouba was booed by opposing fans. Whether he wants it or not, and whether he’s thought about it or not, this is his role to play. 

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RALEIGH, N.C. — These are the Rangers doing what they have done best since October, confounding just about everyone but themselves while continuing to push limits and defy common wisdom.

These are the Rangers climbing the NHL beanstalk.

The mighty two-time defending champion Lightning are next. The task of doing to Tampa Bay what the playoff-tough Islanders could not do either of the last two years is a daunting one, but the Blueshirts are about as undaunted as any group you’d ever meet.

That is both the genesis and result of staring down playoff extinction five times in the last 10 games. That is the mindset that propelled the Rangers’ 6-2 Game 7 victory here over the ’Canes on Monday that clinched a ticket to the conference finals that will commence at the Garden on Wednesday.

This was a Blueshirt tour de force, the victory earned off a pair of power-play goals, with one scored by Chris Kreider; (another) outstanding performance by Igor Shesterkin; a momentum-defining huge hit delivered by Jacob Trouba; and a team-wide commitment to competing and defending.

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Igor Shesterkin's first-round struggles are a thing of the past.

So much so the Rangers rode their Russian netminder into the third round on Monday, on the strength of his 36-save performance in a do-or-die Game 7 against the Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.

Shesterkin stood tall early, stopping 16 Carolina shots in the first period, allowing power play goals by Adam Fox and Chris Kreider to an early lead the Blueshirts would never look back on.

"He gives us a chance to win and that's what he's done in the first," coach Gerard Gallant told ESPN after the opening 20 minutes.

Shesterkin weathered the storm in front of a Carolina crowd constantly chanting his name, but the 26-year-old was ice cold -- even as pests Tony DeAngelo and Max Domi broke through for third-period goals.

"Our goalie, once again, was our best player," veteran Chris Kreider told "SportsCenter" after the victory.

It was a stunning about-face for the goalie, who stopped 221 of 233 shots he save in the seven-game series, after he found himself pulled multiple times as he sought to find his game against the Penguins in Round 1.

As big of a factor as he was against the Hurricanes, he'll be an even bigger one against the Tampa Bay Lightning when the Eastern Conference Finals begin on Wednesday.

The Bolts, gunning for their third straight Stanley Cup, will have to get through Shesterkin, who has been nearly impenetrable when facing them: he's 3-0 with a 1.30 goals-against average and .958 save percentage in his career.

Max Domi pounced on a loose puck at the top of the crease and put it behind Igor Shesterkin with 3:47 left.

Domi's tally made it a 5-2 game with time not the Hurricanes' friend as they hope for a season-saving miracle in Game 7.

It's been a big series for Domi, who cemented himself as a pest and a villain against the Rangers -- but it's the Rangers who are getting the last laugh.

Carolina finally put one past Igor Shesterkin -- but it was too little, too late.

In a wild sequence, Shesterkin misplayed the puck behind the net, but Sebastian Aho's look at a gaping goal was thwarted by Rangers defenseman Adam Fox. Ex-Ranger Tony DeAngelo gave the Hurricanes a glimmer of hope, breaking through the Shesterkin wall at 8:11 of the third period, cutting the Rangers' lead to 4-1.

It didn't last long, however.

Filip Chytil picked up a loose puck in the offense zone and quickly buried his fifth of the postseason -- and third in two games -- just :40 later to make it a 5-1 game and deflate Carolina's already slim hopes.

It's all but a confirmed an Eastern Conference Finals date with the Tampa Bay Lightning awaits the Rangers.

Chris Kreider can taste the Eastern Conference Finals.

The veteran Rangers forward -- a 50-goal scorer during the regular season -- netted his second of the night early in the third period to make it a 4-0 Rangers lead.

Kreider accepted a past at the Rangers blue line and sped straight up the ice, getting a step on the Hurricanes defense and deftly dangling around Pyotr Kochetkov before flicking a backhand shot into a wide-open net.

The tally marked Kreider's eighth goal of the 2022 postseason and fifth of his playoff career -- with a chance to add at least a few more this year looking likely with 16:00 left to play.

A 3-0 lead isn't insurmountable, but the Hurricanes certainly have their work cut out for them.

Ryan Strome's late goal extended the Rangers' lead in the second period, and with forward Seth Jarvis and goalie Antti Raanta injured, Carolina has to get its cards in order, and quickly.

Making things markedly more difficult is goalie Igor Shesterkin standing as tall as ever -- he's stopped all 28 Hurricanes shots he's seen through two periods.

The Rangers are 8-0 when leading after two periods of Game 7 matchups in franchise history, and if they can fend off whatever attack Carolina has left in the tank, they're just 20 minutes to a matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Rangers didn't give Pyotr Kochetkov much time to acclimate in Antti Raanta's stead.

Ryan Strome's snapshot from the face-off dot beat Kochetkov to triple the Blueshirts' lead.

Antti Raanta grabbed his right leg and needed help leaving the ice after seemingly to over-stretch while fending off Mika Zibanejad late in the second period.

Already without starting goalie Frederik Anderson for the first 14 games of the playoffs, now the Hurricanes have to turn to rookie Pyotr Kochetkov with their season on the line.

The Hurricanes announced Raanta would not return with a "lower-body injury."

The Legend of Ryan Lindgren grows in the 2022 NHL playoffs.

The blueliner left the ice favoring his left left after sustaining a hit midway through the second, but he's already back on the bench with 6:19 left in the period.

Lindgren has been playing through pain throughout the Rangers' postseason, with the Hurricanes making sure to play his physically and hard. It hasn't mattered. The 24-year-old has remained a big contributor to the Blueshirts' playoff run, and it seems he has no plans on changing that now.

Through 10:39 of time on ice on Monday, Lindgren has one hit and two blocks.

Ryan Lingren has been playing through injuries throughout the playoffs, and Game 7 might prove to be too much for even him.

The Rangers are leading 2-0 in a building Carolina hasn't lost in during the playoffs.

According to Chris Kreider, the Blueshirts aren't daunted by the challenge.

"We're just trying to take it one shift at a time," Kreider told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "There's been a lot of back and forth games, a lot of tight games. Just worried about ourselves here."

Kreider's power-play goal eight minutes into the first period gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead. He deflected credit for the tally to Mika Zibanejad, who gave him a shot from the top of the circle to redirect past goalie Antti Raanta.

"All that comes from guys on the perimeter moving the puck well," Kreider said. "You gotta respect Mika's shot there. He's scored quite a bit from there."

One of the team's most seasoned veterans, Kreider is well aware of what his younger teammates are staring down.

"This is the kind of game you dream about playing in growing up," he said. "Lots guys looking forward to it."