Second Round, Game 3: Hurricanes at New York Rangers (Carolina leads 2-0)

The series is heading up north for a two-game trip to Madison Square Garden and the Canes are in familiar territory. Just like they did against Boston, the Canes defended home ice and pulled out two very tough wins against the Rangers to put themselves two wins away from another berth into the Eastern Conference Final. Now the hard part begins as they enter an arena with rabid fans that aren't going to take too kindly to them. Against Boston, the team lost focus, became undisciplined, and lost both games. Today, it's going to be about doing everything they can to make sure that doesn't happen again. Game 2 was much different than Game 1 for the Canes. Instead of waiting until the third period to show up, they looked like the sharper team for a majority of the 60 minutes. They didn't score until late in the second period on a short-handed goal by Brendan Smith, but they held tough defensively and Sebastian Aho scored with 1.8 left in the third period to secure a 2-0 win and series lead. They held the Rangers' best forwards to very few chances and Antti Raanta outplayed Igor Shesterkin for the second-straight game. I don't expect to see any changes for the Canes, while I'd anticipate some line changes for the Rangers to get something going. The Rangers being the home team and getting the second change will likely mean we won't see the Staal line against Mika Zibanejad's line. I'm curious to see how these two will match up with the change of scenery. I said at the end of Game 2 that this trip will be about getting at least one win on the road after failing to do it in three tries in Boston. The Canes won both games in New York during the regular season in April, so they can do it. A sense of urgency from the beginning and taking the fans out of the game are the recipe for success this afternoon as the Canes look to jump out to a 3-0 lead. 

1st Period

Scoring

(NYR) 11:54- Mika Zibanejad (4) PP (assisted by Artemi Panarin (5) & Adam Fox (8))

Thoughts

The scoreboard says the Rangers are up 1-0, but the shot chart is indicative of how good a period this was for the Canes. While the Rangers did generate some excellent chances, I thought this was a good road period. The Canes came out of the gates firing today and they made Igor Shesterkin work for his stops. The Aho line felt like they were getting some high-quality looks all period long. The Rangers' goal came on the power play from Zibanejad, but the Canes responded with their best chance of the period that didn't lead to a shot. Svechnikov sprung Kotkaniemi on a mini breakaway, but Shesterkin came flying out of his net to prevent the shot from happening. Otherwise, it would've been tied at one shortly after they'd taken the lead. I don't think anything drastic needs to change in the second period, but a goal on Shesterkin would certainly help.  

2nd Period

Scoring

(NYR) 5:55- Chris Kreider (6) (assisted by Mika Zibanejad (9) & Jacob Trouba (3))

(CAR) 8:18- Nino Niederreiter (4) (assisted by Jordan Staal (4) & Brendan Smith (3))

Thoughts

The goal from Kreider early in the period could've been a real back-breaker, but I didn't get this sense from the Canes with how they responded. First, they got a goal back from the line that always seems to come in clutch. Nino Niederreiter got one through Shesterkin and while it was probably a bad goal for him to allow, there's no doubt that it was huge for the Canes. They continued to push after the goal as well, coming up just short a few times. We can say what we want about the play from Zibanejad to knock the stick out of DeAngelo's hand from underneath. It's a legal play, but it doesn't feel like it should be. The shot from Kreider was stellar though, so it's a moot point. The ice has really opened up for each team. It felt like there were a lot more rush chances and odd-man rushes. The Rangers had a 4-on-1 at one point, but Brendan Smith knocked the puck away to prevent a shot from happening. The Canes now have a lot of power play time to start the period, so a goal out of the gate would get the momentum to stay in their favor. This has been a fun game so far, even though we've only seen three goals. I hope the third period continues the trend and results in a Canes win. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(NYR) 18:37- Tyler Motte (1) EN (unassisted)

Thoughts

This wasn't a bad period and the Canes had their chances. Igor Shesterkin was just better today and that's about it. I didn't think the Rangers were too dangerous offensively in the period, it just boiled down to the Canes not being able to convert on the chances they had. Neither power play generated much in the period, which is something I'm getting a little tired of saying. They've only converted nine times on their last 92 chances. That tells me something needs to change quickly. That's the only immediate thing that I noticed. Otherwise, it was a good game from the Canes. The Rangers just played a better one. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Steven Lorentz (3 Shots, 8:18 TOI)

Is it weird that a fourth-line guy that played less than ten minutes is in this spot? Yes, it is. Do I have a good justification for it? I think so. Despite hardly playing much, Lorentz felt like he was in the play a lot when he was on the ice. He had an excellent chance that he couldn't get a lot on in the third period, but kept going and almost set up Domi. I thought he was noticeable in a small sample size.

Second Star- Antti Raanta (31 Saves on 33 Shots)

Raanta took the loss, but that doesn't mean he played poorly. Unfortunately, he allowed one more goal than Shesterkin did despite making some huge saves when the Canes needed them. He's been the most consistent player on the ice for either team through three games and he's only allowed three goals. The loss stinks, yet I have no doubt he'll shake this off and come back even better in Game 4.

First Star- Nino Niederreiter (Goal)

Just when it looked like the Rangers might be primed to run away with it, the "ol' reliable" line came out and got the Canes back in it with a soft goal to cut the deficit in half. Niederreiter forced a backhand through the arm of Shesterkin to break the shutout. He also finished tied with a game-high four hits. He'd been cold for a little bit, so hopefully, this gets him back into this series. 

Final Thoughts

If this Game 3 was like the one in Boston, then I'd probably react more harshly than I am right now. They didn't play well in Boston in Game 3. Today, I thought the Canes played well, just not good enough to win. The Rangers were no doubt the better team, but the margin is a lot closer than it was in Boston. I don't think we should overreact to this loss. This is the Igor Shesterkin we've seen all season and he finally showed up and outplayed Antti Raanta, who was just as good. I've already talked about the power play, so I'll just say they need to change up the units now. I'm still waiting for guys like Svechnikov, Necas, and Kotkaniemi to get something going because they've been pretty invisible for the last few games. Game 4 is going to be a little bit bigger now. We've already ensured the series will come back to Raleigh for a fifth game, so that's inevitable. Tuesday night determines whether the tickets back to New York will be needed for a sixth game. I'd be more worried if the Canes had lost a game in Raleigh last week, so I'm going to stay even keel until something goes terribly wrong. I'd suggest everyone else do the same.