Hurricanes sweep Rangers in qualifying series as Reimer, Aho spur 4-1 win
The New York Rangers were desperately determined to make something good happen Tuesday.
The Carolina Hurricanes wouldn’t allow it. Not in this postseason series.
The Hurricanes took a 4-1 victory over the Rangers, ending the best-of-five qualifying series with a third straight victory at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
The Canes will advance to the 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs and will be matched against one of the Eastern Conference’s top four seeds (Tampa Bay, Boston, Washington or Philadelphia), which are still to be determined. The Canes also could have injured defenseman Dougie Hamilton back and be close to full strength next week.
“It’s a special group we have in there and we need everyone,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They understand that and everyone is contributing right now. That’s why we’re still playing.”
The Canes heroes were many Tuesday. Goalie James Reimer was at his best, making some spectacular stops among his 37 saves. Sebastian Aho again showed off his offensive wizardry, scoring in the third period with a quick, crafty move, adding a second goal with a late empty netter and also assisting on a goal in a three-point night.
Teuvo Teravainen scored a second-period goal for a 1-1 tie as the Aho line again struck, and Warren Foegele’s score in the third gave the Canes a 2-1 lead. Aho then stole the puck from Jacob Trouba near the blue line, undressed Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo with a one-on-one move and beat Shesterkin with a backhander to make it 3-1.
“Elite,” Foegele said of the play.
“Great players rise to the occasion and he came through for us,” Brind’Amour added.
The Rangers, seeking to stave off elimination, took their first lead of the series when forward Chris Kreider scored in the first minute of the second period. But the Canes kept pushing.
“Human nature, we were up 2-0 and the Rangers weren’t going to go away,” Brind’Amour said. “We didn’t come out the way we needed to. That’s kind of what happens and that’s why you need your goalie. Reims was phenomenal.
“Eventually we got into the fight. Eventually we got to our game. But if it wasn’t for Reims, obviously the game would have been over.”
After goalie Petr Mrazek started the first two games, Brind’Amour turned to Reimer in Game 3. Brind’Amour said before the series he would use both goalies and stuck to that plan in the third game in four days.
“That was an incredible performance — really all three games by our goalies,” Brind’Amour said after the game.
Shesterkin’s play before the NHL pause in March helped the Rangers surge in the Eastern Conference standings, and the Russian was expected to start Game 1. But Shesterkin was ruled unfit to play and veteran Henrik Lundqvist could not continue the success he has had against Carolina is so many seasons, including this season.
Reimer was brilliant late in the second period — and had some help. With the Rangers buzzing around the net, Reimer stopped a shot by Brendan Lemieux, had defenseman Sami Vatanen jump in the crease to stop another and got his goalie stick on a Filip Chytil shot.
Call it goaltending by committee, call it scrambling, but it worked.
The Rangers, quicker, seemingly more focused, quickly tested Reimer and had 14 shots in the period. They also challenged the Canes physically.
Andrei Svechnikov, after his Game 2 hat trick in a 4-1 victory, got some special treatment. The Rangers’ Brendan Smith, catching Svechnikov with his head down, leveled the Canes winger with a clean, hard hit in open ice.
But Svechnikov quickly popped up. He headed to the bench and was seen smiling.
Kreider gave the Rangers the lead, using his power to drive to the net and beat Reimer. The Canes quickly countered. Piling up some offensive zone time, the Canes tied the score when Svechnikov, near the net, passed to Teravainen in the slot for a backhander past Shesterkin.
Lemieux was back in the Rangers lineup after being suspended the first two games of the series for an illegal check against Colorado’s Joonas Donskoi in March during New York’s final regular-season game before coronavirus. That added another physical element for the Rangers.
“In this series there was always someone stepping up big and all of us contributing at the same time,” Foegele said.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 10:55 PM.
