After a crushing double-overtime loss in Game 2, the Carolina Hurricanes look to gain ground in their Eastern Conference semifinal series when they host the New York Rangers in Game 3 on Thursday in Raleigh, N.C.
The Rangers hold a 2-0 lead in the series, and a victory Thursday sets up a potential sweep in Game 4 on Saturday in Raleigh.
New York holds a perfect 6-0 record this postseason, yet the Hurricanes were seemingly close to ending the unbeaten run for much of Game 2. Carolina held a 2-1 lead after the first period and a 3-2 lead after the second. The Hurricanes outshot the Rangers by a 57-39 margin.
“As our game went on, I thought we stayed with it and maybe even got better through the overtimes,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was a roller coaster, a little bit, for the guys to stay in there, locked in and focused like that.”
The Hurricanes had the third-highest shots total in their franchise history, but Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was up to the challenge. Shesterkin stopped 54 of 57 shots, limiting Carolina enough for New York’s dominant special teams units to take command.
The Rangers are 4-for-9 on the power play during the series, and their 2-for-7 performance in Game 2 included their two biggest goals; Chris Kreider’s third period equalizer and Vincent Trocheck’s double-OT winner came with the extra attacker.
By contrast, the Hurricanes went 0-for-5 on the power play in each game of the series. The special teams letdown has been stunning for a squad that finished the regular season with the NHL’s best penalty-kill percentage (86.4) and second-best power-play percentage (26.9).
“The PK has got to kill and the power play has got to convert on just probably one (attempt) and we’d find a way to win,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said after Game 2. “I thought our five-on-five game was great. … Everyone in the room knows our special teams have got to be better.”
Sebastian Aho leads Carolina with five points (all assists) in the series. Jake Guentzel has two goals and an assist, while Dmitry Orlov has one goal and one assist.
Trocheck (five goals, five assists) and Mika Zibanejad (three goals, eight assists) are each on six-game points streaks during the playoffs.
Game 2 marked Trocheck’s first career playoff overtime goal and gained the veteran forward a place in the team record books. Trocheck is on a five-game goals streak, tying him with Cecil Dillon (in the 1933 Stanley Cup playoffs) for the longest postseason goals streak in franchise history.
Shesterkin also has been on fire in New York’s net. The goaltender has a 2.01 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in his six postseason starts.
Carolina’s Frederik Andersen stopped 35 of 39 shots in Game 2, and he has a 3.32 GAA and .871 save percentage in the series. While the numbers are uninspiring, Andersen hasn’t gotten much help from his penalty-kill unit or his defense in general.
The Hurricanes ranked fifth in the NHL with 58 home points during the regular season, and won all three home games against the New York Islanders in their first-round playoff series. The Rangers’ 54 away points tied for fourth-most in the league during the regular season.
