The New York Rangers scored two goals in 11 seconds and defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night.
Despite statistical domination, the Hurricanes (6-9-0) were unable to keep the red-hot Rangers (11-2-2) out of the net. New York goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist was a force in goal, stopping 33 shots, earning his first shutout of the season and the team’s sixth consecutive win.
The Canes led the shot-count 6-1 when the Rangers found the net for the first time through Jesper Fast, the right winger from Sweden. A cheap Carolina giveaway and an error by goalkeeper Cam Ward helped New York take a 1-0 advantage.
Things only got worse as the Rangers won the faceoff and scored just 11 seconds later; this time through left winger Rick Nash, just his second goal of the season. A beautiful pass by right winger Mats Zuccarello played Nash through on goal who subsequently rounded Ward and passed the puck into an empty net.
The Rangers then gave up two penalties for the remainder of the first period, both of which the Canes were unable to capitalize on. New York committed six penalties during the game to Carolina’s two, which had no effect on the final score.
The second period was marked by confident goalkeeping from both Ward and Lundqvist, as they combined to save all 28 shots put on net.
The Rangers sealed the game in the third period with a goal from defenseman Ryan McDonagh, just 13 seconds into the period. His shot, from just inside the blueline, took a slight deflection of a Canes skate, leaving Ward motionless as the puck slid past him.
Aside from a rocky first period, Ward was solid in the Carolina goal, and could do absolutely nothing about the third as he hardly even saw it. He made 20 saves on the night, but was significantly outplayed by Lundqvist.
The Canes once again failed to convert on their abundance of chances, and couldn’t exploit their 37-21 faceoff advantage. With the shutout, the team has now scored fewer than two goals in eight of its 15 games this season.
The Rangers now hold a 17-1-0 record against the Canes since February of 2011, and will not have a shot at improving that record until March 31.
The Hurricanes will return to PNC Arena Thursday night to face the Minnesota Wild, its first of five straight home games.
