LIKE ROADKILL
Drop Game 5 in Carolina, face elimination at Garden
home-ice advantage in the series by finishing six points ahead of the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division, by beating them in three of four head-to-head meetings. The Rangers lost two, tight games to Carolina in April. If they had won those games in regulation, that would have meant an eight-point swing and enough to capture first place.
In that scenario, the Rangers would have hosted a potential seventh game at the Garden. That is not on the schedule now, of course. The Rangers must win the next two games, and Game 7 would be back in Raleigh.
Raleigh happens to be the place where the Carolina pumpkin always seems to turn into a magic carriage.
The Rangers will have to beat the Hurricanes once on Carolina’s hallowed home ice to win this second round series. But first they need to hold serve at the Garden to stay alive.
Vezina finalist Igor Shesterkin had little help in Thursday night’s lopsided 3-1 Game 5 loss in Raleigh, N.C., despite a first period Mika Zibanejad power play goal that had appeared to foreshadow a more even match to come.
The Hurricanes controlled the puck and the game at even strength, scored their own first power-play goal of the series, and improved to a perfect 7-0 in this postseason at PNC Arena.
Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov sealed it with a third period breakaway goal at 13:01, beating Rangers defenseman Adam Fox to a loose puck in the neutral zone before going five-hole on the Blueshirts’ excellent netminder.
The Rangers fell behind, 3-2, in the series, and will host the Hurricanes in Game 6 on Saturday night at the Garden needing a victory to stay alive.
“There’s always disappointment, frustration, anger when you lose a hockey game, especially at this level,” said Chris Kreider, who was held without a shot in Thursday’s defeat. “The [locker] room’s incredibly competitive, but the great thing about playoff hockey is we got another opportunity. Must-win game, game at home, hold serve and give ourselves an opportunity to play better here.”
The good news for Game 6: the Rangers are 5-1 at home in these playoffs.
The bad news: even if they win, no one has figured out how to beat Carolina on their own ice, and that’s where Gerard Gallant’s team will need to capture Game 7 in order to advance to an Eastern
Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We’ve been in this position before and I like our chances on home ice,” center Ryan Strome said. “We’re familiar with this situation and got a chance to push it to seven.”
In Game 5 Thursday night, Shesterkin kept the Rangers in it with several key third period saves, including a brilliant right pad stop on Svechnikov off a defensive zone faceoff.
But Gerard Gallant’s team lost their Garden mojo from Games 3 and 4 away from home. The Rangers have scored seven total goals in two wins at home in this series and two total goals in three games on the road.
Zibanejad and Kreider’s top line was neutralized at even strength. Carolina matched center Jordan Staal’s checking line with the last change on home ice. That set the tone for the Hurricanes’ even strength dominance throughout.
“I think they did a pretty good job of pinning us in our D zone,” Kreider said. “There were a handful of plays I could have gotten it out on the wall .. Those little details had us pinned for a whole shift… Personally I gotta do a better job on the wall.”
Gallant juggled his lines a bit in the third period, and the Rangers killed a late power play, but they were outshot 34 to 17, and those numbers reflected the difference in puck possession. Gallant said his own team “looked tired.”
The Hurricanes led, 2-1, entering the third period after attacking in waves for most of the second. The Rangers were overmatched playing most of the period at even strength, outshot a total 21-10 after two.
Strome thought he’d given the Blueshirts a 2-1 lead at 4:57 of the second period after a persistent turnaround at the blue line and a five-hole finish on Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta.
But Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour successfully challenged an offsides on Andrew Copp to disallow the goal and keep the game knotted at one.
Then Teuvo Teravainen scored the Hurricanes’ first power-play goal of the series on their 10th man advantage in five games at 9:47, capitalizing on a Frank Vatrano hooking penalty.
Shesterkin otherwise weathered the storm, with a glove save off a tough deflection, and help from his post with Sebastian Aho all alone in front.
The first period was lopsided in Carolina’s favor, too. An offensive zone faceoff win by Zibanejad at least temporarily shifted the power imbalance on Carolina’s home ice and lifted the visitors even, 1-1.
The Hurricanes outshot and outhit the Rangers in the opening 20 minutes and took a 1-0 lead on a Vincent Trocheck shorthanded goal 12:57 in.
Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s blue line turnover sent Carolina back up ice on a two-on-one, where Jordan Staal feathered a perfect pass over a sliding K’Andre Miller for the Hurricanes’ first goal in any first period all series.
It could have been 2-0 Hurricanes, if not for a sliding save on a Trocheck rebound wraparound by skilled winger Alexis Lafreniere.
Hurricanes defenseman Ian Cole’s crosscheck on Trouba gave the Rangers another power play, and Zibanejad scored for a third straight game on a one-timer from Artemi Panarin to tie the game at 17:06.
Panarin slid the puck back to defenseman Adam Fox at the point, then took a pass and slid it across the ice to a winding Zibanejad for the finish and tie game. That good feeling would be short-lived, though, despite weathering an 11-5 shot disadvantage in the second.
The Hurricanes became just the third NHL team ever to win their first seven home playoff games while allowing two or fewer goals in all seven victories. That hasn’t happened since the 2003 New Jersey Devils.
And they are the first NHL team ever to play 12 straight games to start a postseason in which the home team has won all 12. That’s good news for the Rangers in Game 6, but bad news for Game 7 – if necessary.
“We’ve played a lot of must-win games lately,” said Strome, referring to the Rangers’ first round 3-1 series comeback on the Pittsburgh Penguins. “And I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”