2023-24 Regular Season, Game 11: Hurricanes at New York Rangers (Postgame)

Two of the hottest teams in the league meet at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night as the Hurricanes and Rangers renew a budding rivalry. New York is returning home from a perfect five-game road trip out West, while the Hurricanes got a late goal from Teuvo Teravainen on Monday night to beat the Flyers in their first division game of the season. With this battle in the Big Apple, things will get tense. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NYR (2:41)- Chris Kreider (7) PP (assisted by Artemi Panarin (11))

CAR (9:43)- Seth Jarvis (5) PP (assisted by Sebastian Aho (6) & Tony DeAngelo (5))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

NYR (10:21)- Will Cuylle (2) (assisted by Jacob Trouba (3) & Barclay Goodrow (1))

My Thoughts

When accounting for every small thing that was going against the Hurricanes tonight, I can't get mad at this effort, even after falling short by a goal. By "going against" the Hurricanes, I really mean playing against a team that is hotter than the surface of the sun with players that are known for terrorizing the Hurricanes in a building they historically have struggled in. I hate road games at Madison Square Garden with a passion. They're always intense, regardless of whether the Canes win or lose. Tonight was the latter result, though they played a great road game. I can't pretend to be heartbroken, even if I thought the Canes deserved better. 

The Rangers showed no signs of sluggishness from their trip when the puck dropped. They controlled the puck from the jump. The Hurricanes made a bad line change, resulting in a penalty, and the Rangers capitalized. A lucky bounce allowed the puck to get to Artemi Panarin, who wasted no time throwing a cross-ice backhand pass to Chris Kreider at the side of the net for an easy goal less than three minutes in. On New York's second power play, Panarin rang the post. The Canes didn't put a shot on Igor Shesterkin until over nine minutes into the game. The Rangers took a too-many-men shortly after that shot, and Seth Jarvis made them pay on the Canes' second shot. Sebastian Aho made a beautiful stretch pass to Jarvis to spring home on a breakaway, and he placed it perfectly over Shesterkin's glove to tie it. 

There would be no more offense for another 40 minutes, allowing the goalies and defenses to steal some highlights. Frederik Andersen was phenomenal tonight, and I thought he outplayed Igor Shesterkin for most of the night. He made a great stop in the second period on Alexis Lafreniere, then made some saves on Panarin in the final two periods to keep the game tied. Jaccob Slavin also made a tremendous defensive play to deny Blake Wheeler a great scoring chance in the second. To Shesterkin's credit, he was big when he needed to be. He made a big stop on Aho shortly after Jarvis' goal to keep it tied. During Carolina's second power play, he made consecutive saves on Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. 

The difference in tonight's game came down to one unfortunate play in the defensive zone. Jacob Trouba was at the center of the game-winning goal. He kept a puck in at the point, and Tony DeAngelo drifted, expecting Trouba to toss it around the boards. Instead, Trouba found a streaking Will Cuylle, and Seth Jarvis could not block the pass as Cuylle slid it between Andersen's pads to give the Rangers the lead and, eventually, the win. 

As it always is, officiating was at the center of this game. Both fanbases felt the referees tonight were terrible. Hurricanes fans were upset at the Rangers getting five power plays, compared to the Canes' two, and for the referees calling off an icing call in the final 30 seconds to kill more of the clock with Andersen on the bench. Rangers fans felt the referees missed many high-sticking penalties against the Canes, though none were illegal. The fans, along with Rangers Head Coach Peter Laviolette, were upset about a play in the first period that took Adam Fox out for the rest of the night. Fox collided with Sebastian Aho in the Rangers' zone 12 minutes into the game, beginning an online debate over whose fault it was, with both sides pointing fingers. Obviously, my allegiance lies with the Hurricanes, but I'm not convinced either purposefully stuck out their legs to initiate contact. Neither would've had a good reason to do it either. Sometimes, the obvious explanation is the right one. Aho isn't a dirty player and has no reputation for being one. It was an unfortunate accident, taking Fox out of the game for the rest of the night. The officials didn't help or hurt either team. The Rangers won the game on their own. The Hurricanes lost the game on their own. That's the end of it. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Sebastian Aho- Assist

Tonight, Aho did a little bit of everything. He distributed the puck well, setting up Jarvis' goal and nearly setting up a few more. He had an excellent chance after Jarvis' goal, getting denied by Shesterkin's blocker. It was an overall solid night for the Canes' superstar. 

2nd Star- Jaccob Slavin- Defensive wizardry, 2 hits, 23:22 TOI

There won't ever come a point where Slavin's abilities in the defensive zone will cease to amaze me. He's consistently dominant, and I'll continue to praise it while he's a Hurricane. His play on Wheeler in the second period was the tip of the iceberg. 

1st Star- Frederik Andersen- 24 saves

Even in a loss, Andersen was the best player for the Hurricanes tonight. Neither goal can be placed on him. Really, the Hurricanes were beaten by two incredible passes to open players. Andersen continues to string together incredible performances, dating back to his win in Raleigh over Seattle. 

Up Next- The Hurricanes will be on Long Island Saturday night to face the Islanders to compete this tough week against the Metropolitan Division. Next week, all three games are against the Atlantic. First, they'll be in Raleigh to face the Buffalo Sabres. Then, they will be back on the road, facing the Panthers and Lightning on back-to-back nights next weekend.