Rangers blown away by the Hurricanes in worrisome defeat 6-3
The New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes were set to duke it out as the top two teams in the Metro Division. When it was all said and done, it was two former Rangers in Tony DeAngelo and Jesper Fast who helped the Canes to a win.
Gerard Gallant wasn’t pleased as his team once again had a sluggish start against a top tier opponent. This time it burned them.
“They took some pucks to the net against us. Our coverage wasn’t good in the d-zone,” Gallant said. “Not taking nothing away from that team. We made some bad mistakes, but they force you into the bad mistakes.”
Recap: Hurricanes 6 vs Rangers 3
The first period started okay for the Rangers, but gradually the speed and aggression of the Canes took over. New York was on their heels from about the five minute mark on finding it difficult to even gain the offensive zone.
Carolina would get on the board first with Jacob Trouba in the box for slashing. A Tony DeAngelo shot was deflected by Vincent Trocheck for the first goal at 13:13. Patrik Nemeth’s inability to move out the Canes player or tie up his stick was the main reason for the tally.
Seth Jarvis made it 2-0 converting a 2 on 1 with Sebastian Aho. Adam Fox failed to play the puck in the neutral zone and fell down trying to recover. When the 20 minutes was up, Carolina outshot the Rangers 11-4.
“Just not good enough,” Ryan Reaves said of the opening frame. “We can’t wait until the third period. We have to come out hungry in the second or else this game will get out of hand.”
Storm surge
Reaves’ words were prophetic.
In the second period the Canes poured it on and added three goals. It was all due to their aggressive play and speed. Simply put the Rangers could not handle it.
The one bright spot was a big Barclay Goodrow hit that drew a power play when Jesperi Kotkaniemi took a double minor for rouging. Mika Zibanejad would score just six seconds after the penalty to get the Blueshirts on the board.
At the time, it cut the lead to 3-1 but the Carolina onslaught would see them build a 5-1 lead on just 27 shots.
“We talked about games where we don’t play a full 60 — it’s the best team we’ve played against all year,” Zibanejad explained. “We’ll learn from it and move on.”
A little too late
The New York Rangers finally found their game and matched the Canes aggression.
Chris Kreider picked up his 13th power play goal of the season to tie Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead. The All-Star corralled a rebound off a Fox shot to make it 5-2 with Seth Jarvis in the box.
“We were running around in our d-zone,” Kreider said afterwards. “At the end of the day their forecheck against us was successful early. We could’ve all did a better job in our own zone.”
The Rangers gained a little momentum off that goal as the fourth line put some pressure on. Ryan Reaves made a deft backhand play off Frederik Andersen’s pads that Greg McKegg banked in to make it interesting.
Two goals in 1:14 was enough for Carolina call a timeout and it seemed to settle them down.
Former Ranger Tony DeAngelo would ice the game with a power play goal after a bad slash by Alexis Lafrenière. For DeAngelo, he finished the game with a goal and two assists.
In the end, the Rangers showed some resiliency but another slow start is cause for concern. While they were able to overcome it on Wednesday against the Leafs, the Hurricanes proved way too much for them to handle on this night.
Notable Rangers
- Alexandar Georgiev did not have much help as he made 29 saves on 35 shots
- Chris Kreider added a goal and an assist to his season totals
- Mika Zibanejad added a goal and an assist. He now has 12 points in his last 9 games.
Tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 22): Gerard Gallant Availability in MSG Press Room (5:00 PM ET)
Next Game: Saturday, Jan. 22 vs. Arizona Coyotes (7:00 PM ET – TV: MSG)
*Schedule subject to change
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