Rangers power past Hurricanes in Game 4 to even series at 2-2

Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the host New

York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 Tuesday night, evening the second-round series.

Mika Zibanejad also scored, Ryan Lindgren had two assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots for the Rangers, who won their fifth straight at home in the postseason. In the series, New York won two at home after opening with two losses at Carolina.

Teuvo Teravainen scored and Antti Raanta finished with 24 saves for the Hurricanes, who fell to 0-5 on the road in the postseason to go along with their 6-0 mark at home.

Game 5 is in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday night, and Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

The Rangers have won two straight against the Hurricanes after losing eight of the previous nine meetings, including a three-game sweep in the qualifying round of the 2020 playoff bubble and three of four in the regular season.

LATE MONDAY

Avalanche 6, Blues 3:

Nazem Kadri had a powerful response to quiet all the haters.

Refusing to buckle in the face of death threats, racial slurs, a booing St. Louis crowd and a few post-whistle hits, the Avalanche forward scored three times — including the game-winner — in a 6-3 victory over the Blues on Monday night.

“I know some of those messages I got doesn’t reflect every single fan in St. Louis,” Kadri said after helping Colorado take a 3-1 lead in its secondround playoff series. “But for those that hate, that was for them.”

The game was played amid a heightened police presence two days after Kadri became the target of racist social media posts following his collision that knocked Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington out for the rest of the series.

With Binnington watching from a team suite, Kadri scored twice — and celebrated his first goal with a salute to the crowd — during a second-period surge in which Colorado scored four times to build a 4-1 lead. He then completed his first career three-goal playoff game by putting the Avalanche up 5-3 midway through the third period.

Aside from quieting a crowd that booed him from his opening shift, Kadri also made the Blues pay for being undisciplined.

David Perron and Pavel Buchnevich each drew minor penalties for shoving Kadri from behind

5:30 into the second period.

After Colorado failed to capitalize on the two-man advantage, Kadri scored what stood up as the game-winning goal seven seconds after the penalties expired.