RALEIGH, NC – The New York Rangers erased an early deficit to build momentum, only to squander their own lead late with a big postseason road win just minutes away.
That didn’t stop them from remaining undefeated in the NHL playoffs with a second consecutive overtime victory and moving closer to the Eastern Conference final.
Artemi Panarin redirected a between-the-legs pass in the box to beat Pyotr Kotchetkov just 1:43 into OT and the Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round series .
Panarin ended the game after the Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov scored with the extra attacker and there was just 1:36 left to tie, sending a shock through the normally raucous Carolina crowd during overtime. Still, the Rangers struck when it came time to surprise Carolina in a matchup between two of the league’s three best regular-season teams.
“This is a resilient group and they’ve been in these situations before,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said of the break before OT. “And I think (it was) just sending a message that we’re doing the right things, that we were going to finish this because of what we went through and the way we’re playing right now.”
Of course, it helps to have a finisher like Panarin.
The decisive play began when Carolina’s Dmitry Orlov lost control of a puck in the corner of the defensive zone. Vincent Trocheck received it on the right side and sent it toward the line to Panarin, who tipped the puck behind him as defenseman Jalen Chatfield tried to push it away from the box.
The puck slipped under his right elbow and past Kotchetkov’s ribs, making Panarin celebrate and the Rangers soon joined him near the door toward the off-ice tunnel.
“I think Orlov, the puck bounced off his stick,” Trocheck said. “And then I saw a little bit of daylight, saw Bread hitting the net, and that was a great tip from him.”
The Rangers, who are 7-0 in the postseason after beating Washington in the first round, can complete the sweep in Game 4 here on Saturday night.
Chris Kreider scored a shorthanded goal in the second period on a game-tying run across the ice, while Alexis LaFreniere also scored in the third period for New York to take a 2-1 lead.
The Rangers were on the verge of a regulation victory when Svechnikov gave Carolina another chance. The play began when Brady Skjei fired an outside shot that sent the puck ricocheting off Sebastian Aho’s stick – breaking Aho’s stick – near the right post.
But the puck went back into the slot, and Svechnikov was able to get the puck past Adam Fox and over the shoulder of Igor Shesterkin (45 saves) to tie it at 2.
Jake Guentzel scored a first-period goal for Carolina, while the 24-year-old Kochetkov made 22 saves as he took over the net from Frederik Andersen after the veteran started the first seven playoff games.
In the end, though, Carolina has seen its last eight playoff losses come by one-goal margins, dating back to Florida’s victory in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Five of those losses came in overtime periods, including the last two.
“It’s kind of a broken record,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said.
The series seemed to have potential for heavy drama, considering the Metropolitan Division winners Rangers also won the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s best regular-season team, while the Hurricanes – in the playoffs for the sixth time in six seasons – finished three points behind and entered the NHL playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet at MGM Sportsbook,
Still, the Rangers turned it into a display of confident, steady play.
In addition to Panarin’s finish, there was Kreider’s charge up the ice, passing by Brent Burns to finish off a Mika Zibanejad attack for a shorthanded goal that tied it at 1 and drained Carolina’s sustained momentum since Guentzel’s first goal. And it ended up capturing a piece of another frustrating night for Carolina on the power play — along with a clear special teams advantage for New York thus far.
After going 0-for-5 with the man advantage in each of the first two games, Carolina — which was the league’s second-ranked power play team with the man advantage — went 0-for-5 once again to sit at 0-for-15 in the Series.
Carolina’s penalty kill yielded four goals in the first two games, but this time it withstood four power plays and continued steady play in 5-on-5 action.
“There are two games going on here,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “If you want to write the right story, that’s what’s happening. And we’re losing a bad one. But we are doing very well in the other one. So it’s how we can figure out how to make this story a little better, that’s the difference.”
Rangers had their own lineup change, with striker Filip Chytil – who was ruled out for the season in January – getting his first action since November after being sidelined with an upper body injury.
