Artemi Panarin scored in overtime as the Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, Thursday night to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the second-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blueshirts lead the best-of-seven series, three games to none, and can close it out Saturday night.
Chris Kreider scored a shorthanded goal, Alexis Lafrenière gave the Rangers a lead in the third period and – stop us if you’ve heard this one before – Igor Shesterkin was brilliant in net again, making 45 saves at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC.
The Rangers’ penalty-kill unit had another tremendous game, holding Carolina’s second-ranked power play to 0-for-5 for a third consecutive game. The Canes are 0-for-15 on the power play in the series. Overall in the playoffs, the Rangers’ PK is 30-for-32 (93.8 percent).
Here are the takeaways
-The Rangers have won all seven of their playoff games so far and are the only team in the playoffs without a loss. It’s the second time in franchise history they’ve accomplished the feat. The first was 1994. Does anyone remember how that season ended? The last NHL team overall to win its first seven playoff games was the 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins.
-Lafrenière scored his goal with 13:35 remaining in the third period off a nice feed from Panarin, who got the puck from Vincent Trocheck. Lafrenière shot the puck over the glove of Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, who was starting for the first time in the playoffs. It was Lafrenière’s third goal in the last two games.
-The Canes tied the score at 2 with 1:36 remaining in the third period when Andrei Svechnikov cashed in on a rebound from the slot. Carolina had pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in a desperate attempt to get the equalizer.
-There were 15 minor penalties called in regulation, which likely drove both coaches crazy. The Rangers had 16 penalty minutes and Carolina had 14.
-The first period ended with Carolina holding a 1-0 lead after the Canes spent much of the period pushing the action, outshooting the Blueshirts, 17-7. Ranger-killer Jake Guentzel scored his third goal of the series when he re-directed a Dmitry Orlov shot past Shesterkin with 9:46 left. It was Guentzel’s 11th career playoff goal against the Rangers in only 10 games. The score was set up by Svechnikov’s physical work in the corner, when he fetched the puck and fed it to Orlov, triggering the play.
-The first period was quite physical and Carolina was credited with 16 hits to the Rangers’ three. Each team killed one penalty and there were several concurrent whistles after scrums and hard feelings bloomed. Barclay Goodrow poked at the puck under Kochetkov, which created some pushing and shoving around the Carolina net.
At one point, Jimmy Vesey and Jesperi Kotkaniemi dropped their gloves, but that didn’t go very far. Those two got two-minute penalties and so did Goodrow (unsportsmanlike conduct) and Orlov (roughing). Goodrow yapped at the Carolina bench and, during a timeout afterward, Tony DeAngelo kept talking at Ranger players and at one point laid his gloves down on the ice.
-The Rangers were sharper in the second period, generating multiple chances, including breakaways for Panarin and Trocheck, though neither could cash in. But the Blueshirts evened the score at 1 on a short-handed goal by Kreider with 11:30 remaining in the period. Mika Zibanejad skated down the left side and fed Kreider in front of the net and Kreider used his backhand side to re-direct the puck in. It was the third shorthanded goal of the playoffs for the Rangers and the assist gave Zibanejad at least one point in seven straight games.
Overall, Carolina outshot the Rangers, 21-13, in the period, but the Blueshirts were more dangerous. Kreider, for instance, hit the post later in the period when the Rangers were short handed again.
–Filip Chytil, who last played an NHL game on Nov. 2 because of injury, returned to the ice and was set on the third line with Kaapo Kakko and Alex Wennberg. Chytil played in only 10 games all season and had no goals and six assists and, at one point, the Rangers thought Chytil would miss the entire season. To make room in the lineup for Chytil, Matt Rempe was scratched for the first time in the playoffs. Will Cuylle moved to the fourth line to skate with Goodrow and Vesey.
-The Canes switched goalies for Game 3, starting Kochetkov over Frederik Andersen, who had played all seven of Carolina’s previous playoff games. Kochetkov was the Hurricanes’ No. 1 goalie while Andersen was out during the season with a blood clotting issue and went 23-13-4 with a 2.33 goals-against average.
During the regular season, Kochetkov gave up just two goals in two starts against the Rangers, a 1-0 loss and a 6-1 victory. But he had not played since April 14 and was making just his second career start in the playoffs. Andersen allowed four goals in each of the first two games of the series and stopped 54-of-62 shots (an .871 save percentage). Andersen has a 2.58 GAA in seven games in these playoffs.
-After making Evgeny Kuznetsov a healthy scratch in Game 2, the Canes inserted the 31-year-old center back into the lineup Thursday. Kuznetsov was one of Carolina’s big mid-season acquisitions in a deal with Washington.
Game MVP
Panarin, who scored the winner with just 1:43 gone in overtime. It came on a re-direct of a shot by Trocheck. He now has four goals in the playoffs – all of them game-winners.
Highlights
What’s next
The Rangers will go for the four-game sweep of the Hurricanes to move on to the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
