Hurricanes surge past Rangers for 4-2 victory, add to lead in Metro Division
The Carolina Hurricanes had so many bad memories of playing the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden.
Now, they have a good one.
Game after game through the years, the Canes came into the New York, into the Garden, and came away losers. Some called it the Canes’ “House of Horrors.”
But that all changed Tuesday in a 4-2 Carolina victory. Rookie forward Seth Jarvis, who had never been to New York, much less played the Garden, helped change it. Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Canes captain Jordan Staal, suddenly a sniper, helped change it.
Goalie Frederik Andersen, matched up against New York’s Igor Shesterkin in a duel of two Vezina Trophy candidates, more than did his part. So did the Canes’ penalty killers, who would not allow the league’s second-ranked power play to score on the Rangers’ four opportunities that Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said “seemed like 10.”
It all added up to a complete team victory, one that gave the Canes (48-18-8) 104 points and a four-point cushion over the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division with eight games left in the regular season. Both the Canes and Rangers have clinched playoff spots and they’ll play again April 26 in New York.
“It was a big game, a huge game, especially this time of the year where the two teams have clinched ... and we’re so close in the standings,” said Canes defenseman Brady Skjei, who had two assists. “We’ve got guys on our team who were (Rangers players) for a while. It was a big game.”
Skjei, defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Smith and forward Jesper Fast all are former Rangers who once helped beat the Canes. But because of the pandemic, Carolina had not played the Garden since Dec. 27, 2019 and the lineups have changed for both teams,
“There was a little extra to it,” Andersen said. “We had a lot of guys with some history of being here and it was pretty emotional for them. It was good to get the win for them, too.”
The Rangers (47-21-6) had beaten the Canes 18 of the past 19 games at Madison Square Garden. If something could go wrong for the Canes, it usually did.
But not Tuesday. Jarvis, continuing to build on a strong first NHL season, had a goal and an assist. Aho had a goal and two assists, sealing the victory with an empty-net score with six seconds left in regulation — Aho’s 100th career multi-point game.
Aho’s goal came after the Rangers pulled Shesterkin for a sixth attacker and Chris Kreider scored his 50th of the season, pulling New York within 3-2 with 1:38 remaining. The Rangers have a franchise-record 26 comeback wins this season but the Canes did not allow another.
Svechnikov tied the score 1-1 in the second with his 29th after his turnover led to New York’s first goal, by defenseman K’Andre Miller. From below the goal line, Svechnikov backhanded the rebound of a Jarvis shot off Shesterkin’s left pad and into the net.
Jarvis scored off a backhander early in the third, flashing in on Shesterkin, and Staal had the game-winner at 6:42 of the period. Collecting a rebound between the circles, Staal turned and ripped a shot that like so many other in recent games found the net.
“They raised their level and tilted the ice on us,” Kreider said of the Canes.
After a hat trick Sunday against Anaheim, his first in nearly 14 years, Staal now has scored six goals in his past four games — that after eight in the first 68 games.
“We had a great third period,” Brind’Amour said. “Freddie kept us in there and we had a good third period and tonight it was good enough.”
Andersen finished with 28 saves, half of those coming in a scoreless first period that had the Rangers keep the puck most of the time and have two power plays. He also showed off some stick-handling skills during a delayed penalty against New York in the second period, calmly playing the puck as he was skating to the bench.
“I felt the puck came to me and I wanted to try to keep it alive,” Andersen said. “It was kind of a free play. Why not?”
Brind’Amour was happy to see Andersen not cross the red line in doing it. He didn’t. This night, everything fell into place neatly for the Canes.
“The boys enjoyed it,” Brind’Amour said of Andersen’s puck play but also summing up the game.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 9:51 PM.
