Hurricanes turn tables, sweep Rangers

Sebastian Aho scored twice in the third period as James Reimer was strong in net to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Tuesday night and sweep the Stanley Cup qualifier series.

Warren Foegele scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, redirecting a shot from the point by Brady Skjei to beat rookie Igor Shesterkin. Then Aho followed with a highlightreel goal, taking the puck from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba and skating in on Tony DeAngelo to backhand the puck past Shesterkin.

Aho added an empty-netter late to seal it, with the Hurricanes sweeping the best-of-five series after losing all four regular-season meetings with the Rangers.

Reimer had a huge part of the win, finishing with 37 saves that included a couple of big stops during a wild second-period sequence.

The Rangers are the first team eliminated from the NHL’s expanded playoff rounds but are in the running to claim the No. 1 overall draft pick in Monday’s second draft lottery. One of the eight eliminated playoff teams will claim the chance to select Alexis Lafreniere, the projected top pick.

“It just sucks that it’s done,” said Mika Zibanejad, who had 41 regular-season goals for the Rangers but none after Game 1. “I don’t know, just an empty feeling.”

Maple Leafs 3, Blue Jackets 0: Auston Matthews and John Tavares scored and Toronto evened its qualifying series, but defenseman Jake Muzzin was taken off on a stretcher after his head made violent contact with Columbus’ Oliver Bjorkstrand. “He was responsive,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We’re just awaiting the assessment.”

Flames 6, Jets 2: Sean Monahan had a goal and two assists while Cam Talbot finished with 33 saves to help Calgary take a 2-1 lead in its qualifier series.

Predators 4, Coyotes 2: Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist, Juuse Saros stopped 24 shots and Nashville tied its qualifier series.

Islanders 4, Panthers 2: Jordan Eberle scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, and New York rallied to a 2-0 lead in its preliminary series.

Canucks vs. Wild, late