In case you needed any more of a reason to get excited for playoffs, last night was about as close as you can get to a playoff type of feel. The Rangers got immediate redemption as they weathered the storm and came out on top in the third period against Carolina. The Blueshirts were pretty much dominated by Carolina in the first period, slowly showed some life in the second then managed to grab a lead and ride it until that final buzzer in the third to win the game 2-1, making their season series against the Hurricanes 3-1 in their favor.
The first period had good energy from both sides physically but as far as the hockey goes, it was incredibly lopsided. The Hurricanes out-shot the Rangers 13-3 in the first and eventually got on top of the scoreboard with a shot through a screen from Sebastian Aho. Not much you can really do there aside from not having the opposing team spend 19 of the games first 20 minutes in your own zone. Shesterkin was a big reason as to why this game wasn’t a blowout from the start but thankfully, as the game went on, the Rangers chances increased but their best chance came as a bit of a failed opportunity. Early in the first, the Rangers had a 5-on-3 power play that despite getting good looks, were unable to capitalize on.
Much of the same continued through the second period until about the midway point of the game where Mika Zibanjead fed Artemi Panarin with a perfect pass at the hash mark to put one away to tie the game up at one. A great play that started with Vladimir Tarasenko who not for nothing, has been such a joy to watch since being acquired by the Rangers. Don’t let his skill distract you from the fact that he plays a hard nosed, physical game and throughout last night's game, threw a couple of reverse hits that will certainly come in handy during playoffs. The score stayed locked in at one a piece to head into the third period with the Rangers still being out-shot severely 25-11.
It would be just as tight a game in the third but with way less chances as both sides only registered five shots on goal a piece. About four minutes in, Adam Fox broke a long scoring drought to give the Rangers the lead that would hold on for the rest of the game. A beautiful shot from the slot that came from Panarin who is on pace for well over 60 assists on the year. There was plenty of time left in this one for either team to add to the score but nevertheless, neither side was budging. Carolina pulled the goalie with under two minutes to go and Igor Shesterkin once again had a couple chances for the empty netter but on his best one, he whiffed on the shot causing it not to leave the Rangers zone.. One of these days, it’s going to happen.
All in all, this was a hard fought effort for the Rangers. Not a perfect game by any means but it had that playoff energy and they came out on top which in the end, is all that matters. From Raleigh, they’ll head south to Sunrise, FL for a meeting with the Panthers Saturday Evening. They are now four points behind New Jersey for second in the Metro and six behind Carolina for first. With ten games left, they have a good chance of pushing for home ice advantage but it certainly won’t come easily.
Chris Feldman
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