New York Rangers squander opportunity, facing elimination against Hurricanes
The New York Rangers had a golden opportunity to finally take a lead in a series and squandered it.
After tying the game on a Mika Zibanejad goal in the first period, the Hurricanes just kept coming in waves. Playing with a ferocious tenacity and at a high pace, the Rangers looked like they were skating in mud and it eventually led to the a 3-1 loss.
The Rangers were outshot 34 to 17 and that seems flattering.
“We’ve been in this position before,” Ryan Strome said. “We’ve got a chance at home to push it to 7.”
Recap: Hurricanes 3 vs Rangers 1
Vincent Trocheck recorded his first point of the series at 12:57 of the first period after Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba committed a turnover in the neutral zone during a New York power play. Carolina captain Jordan Staal skated in on a 2-on-1 rush before lifting a saucer pass that Trocheck converted at the right post.
New York had better results on its next power-play opportunity, as Mika Zibanejad won an offensive zone faceoff and one-timed a pass from Artemi Panarin past Raanta. Zibanejad’s goal was his sixth of the playoffs.
New York appeared to take a 2-1 lead early in the second period after Ryan Strome’s turnaround shot from the left circle sailed between the pads of Raanta. The goal was negated, however, after Carolina successfully challenged that Rangers forward Andrew Copp was offside prior to Strome’s tally.
The Hurricanes seized a 2-1 advantage at 9:47 after rookie Seth Jarvis’ diagonal pass found Teravainen, who unleashed a one-timer deep in the left circle that passed Shesterkin. Teravainen’s goal was his fourth of the playoffs and second in as many games.
Svechnikov fended off New York defenseman Adam Fox and sent a backhand shot between the pads of Shesterkin to double the advantage with 6:59 remaining in the third period.
“We’ve got to win one game. It’s cliche,” Chris Kreider said. “Win the first shift. Win the first period and take it from there.”
New York Rangers will now try to stave off elimination in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden.
“Tonight I’m disappointed because we didn’t play our best game,” Gerard Gallant said. “We just weren’t competitive enough.”
Notable Rangers
- Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 of 34 shots
- Mika Zibanejad scored his 6th goal of the playoffs
- Artemi Panarin picked up an assist
- Adam Fox registered an assist
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-Field Level Media contributed to this report
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