Smith, Raanta, ’Canes put Rangers in 2-0 hole
RALEIGH, N.C. » Brendan Smith had gone nine years since last finding the back of the net in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
And Antti Raanta, well, he never had a postseason game like this.
The Carolina Hurricanes keep finding different ways to win in the playoffs. It’s why they’re unbeaten at home, and up 2-0 again in a series.
Smith scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period while Raanta had 21 saves for his first postseason shutout to help the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 2-0 on Friday night, claiming Game 2 of their second-round series.
“I think if we just stick to our style, it’s eventually going to wear on teams and we’re going to find a way to win,” Smith said.
Smith’s goal off a feed from Sebastian Aho was the difference in a tightly defended game by both teams with little space to operate and even fewer traffic-free looks at the net.
Aho added a clinching empty-net score to finish this off with 1.8 seconds left as Raanta held up.
It came two nights after the Hurricanes rallied to tie Game 1 in the final minutes on Aho’s tying third-period goal, then a rare OT score by defenseman Ian Cole. That came after a higher-scoring first-round series against Boston that went the full seven games.
“Teams that are still playing at this time of year, they can adapt to whatever the game is,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Now 6-0 at home in the playoffs, Carolina faces the
challenge of winning on the road for the first time in the postseason.
They’ll get their first chance to win at Madison Square Garden in Game 3 on Sunday. And the Rangers must mount another series comeback after rallying from a 3-1 deficit to beat
Pittsburgh in a seven-game first-round series.
“I’m happy with the way we’ve performed overall,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “I wish we would’ve got one of these two games. We probably could’ve, but that’s the way it goes.”