After a five-day break to prepare for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes looked like a different team out on the ice in New York City. The Canes played catch-up for the entirety of its game against the Rangers, a whole new style after beating the Islanders 4-1 in the first round.
The top two teams in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season faced off in the Big Apple for the first game of the second round and it was nothing short of classic playoff hockey. Carolina (52-23-7) fell behind when New York (55-23-4) lit the buzzer less than three minutes into the game.
The two elite teams are each other’s worst nightmare. From league-high defenses to superstar forwards who have set franchise records, tensions were set to the max from the very first puck drop. The Rangers racked up 12 penalty minutes compared to Carolina’s eight. Six penalties were called within the first period alone, with both teams taking three each.
New York’s first goal of the afternoon came off a poor defensive play by the Canes. Rangers’ center Mika Zibanejad snuck behind Carolina left wing Teuvo Teravainen to create a one-on-one opportunity with netminder Frederik Andersen. He quickly fired off a snapshot to give New York a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for the Hurricanes to tie the game back up. A minute after the Rangers’ goal Canes’ defenseman Jaccob Slavin tallied his first goal of the playoffs with a bouncing shot past New York goalie Igor Shesterkin. Now tied 1-1, it looked to be an even fight for the rest of the matchup.
The Canes received their first powerplay six minutes into the first frame. Carolina had five powerplay goals in the first round against the Islanders, but the Canes were unable to add to their tally this game.
A few minutes later, New York had its powerplay and quickly capitalized on the opportunity. Nine seconds after the puck dropped, Zibanejad scored his second goal of the night to bring the Rangers up 2-1. Despite having another powerplay later in the period, Carolina couldn’t get another goal on the board. New York finished the period up 3-1 with a late-period goal from center Vincent Trocheck.
The second frame was very back-and-forth for both benches, with no changes in the score through 20 minutes of play. New York had more scoring chances through the period, though, leading Carolina by 10 shots to six.
Center Martin Necas gave the Hurricanes a wave of momentum early into the final frame with his second goal of the playoffs. Less than three minutes into the third period, Necas was all alone in the New York zone and was fed a pass from left-wing Jordan Martinook for the one-on-one opportunity. Necas took full advantage to bring his squad within one goal. Only down 3-2, it seemed like the Canes were almost done playing catch-up.
The Rangers quickly snatched that wave of energy away from the Hurricanes with a goal from superstar left wing Artemi Panarin. The Russian leads New York in points, goals, and assists and easily added another goal to his scorecard. Down 4-2 with 10 minutes left, Carolina needed a miracle.
Center Seth Jarvis put the first step of the miracle in place with less than two minutes left in the matchup. With heavy pressure on Shesterkin, Carolina found success as the goal came from Jarvis’ stick to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-3. With the seconds ticking down—and some open opportunities with the man advantage—the Hurricanes were fighting for their lives. It wouldn’t come to fruition, and the Rangers took game one.
The Canes will stay in New York City to take on the Rangers once again on Tuesday, May 7 in Madison Square Garden.
