2024 Postseason: 2nd Round, Game 3: Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

The Rangers held serve in Game 2, winning in double overtime on a Vincent Trocheck power-play goal to help New York take a 2-0 lead in the series. Tonight, the series moves to PNC Arena for the first of two games at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes need to get back into the series, making this a must-win game for Carolina. The Canes opted to change it up in the net, turning to Pyotr Kochetkov for the first time this postseason. After a heart-wrenching loss on Tuesday, the change in scenery could be massive for the Canes' hopes. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (10:14)- Jake Guentzel (4) (assisted by Dmitry Orlov (2) & Andrei Svechnikov (6))

2nd Period

NYR (8:30)- Chris Kreider (4) SH (assisted by Mika Zibanejad (9))

3rd Period

NYR (6:25)- Alexis Lafreniere (3) (assisted by Artemi Panarin (5) & Vincent Trocheck (6))

CAR (18:36)- Andrei Svechnikov (2) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (7) & Brady Skjei (7))

Overtime

NYR (1:43)- Artemi Panarin (4) (assisted by Vincent Trocheck (7))

My Thoughts

Trying to find the proper words to describe my current state of mind is hard because I can't help but harken back to how I felt during the Florida series last season. The Hurricanes have been right there for three games now, yet they've lost all three by one goal, including two in overtime. On top of it all, they're facing a goalie who is playing out of his mind, making stop after stop to prevent the Canes from garnering any sustained momentum. Is it starting to sound familiar? It's almost numbing at this point. Once the Canes make it past regulation, it's starting to become more about how quickly they'll lose instead of whether or not they will. Tonight caught me off guard because I was expecting at least two overtimes again. Instead, Artemi Panarin allowed us to get to bed at a slightly more reasonable hour. 

The stripes had a fun night, too. They had their whistles out of their pockets for most of the first two periods. Some of the calls were just mystifying. They lost control of the game in the first period. Andrei Svechnikov was given an embellishment penalty for trying to play hockey. We nearly had a line brawl after the Rangers got too close to Pyotr Kochetkov. Brady Skjei was called for setting a pick, only for Barclay Goodrow to get away with the same thing three minutes later. Now, it would help if the Hurricanes actually converted on a power play instead of allowing a short-handed goal that sucks the momentum and life out of the arena, but that's purely semantics. This has already been a frustrating enough series to watch as a Hurricanes fan, and the stripes aren't helping by inserting themselves into the game.

I will not tolerate any Pyotr Kochetkov slander after his performance tonight. Outside of the Canes' top line, Kochetkov was the only other player who showed up for the entire game. He hadn't played in almost a month, yet he still looked to be on his game. Unfortunately, not even Kochetkov could outplay Igor Shestekrin tonight. Frederik Andersen had a hard enough time trying to go toe-to-toe with him, and while Kochetkov looked good, Shesterkin is the reason the series is 3-0 instead of 2-1 for either team. Still, Kochetkov pulled out some of the stops, including his patented poke check on Chris Kreider late in regulation after Svechnikov tied it. Kochetkov played his butt off to try and earn the win. The team in front of him didn't do enough to win.

Just like I said last season, it's time to start preparing for the worst. In NHL history, only four teams have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. The Canes are having a hard enough time beating the Rangers once. While I'm ever the optimist when it comes to this team, not even I think it's possible. I could be proven wrong, though I think I stand a better chance of winning the lottery. It feels like I'm on the Titanic and going down with the ship as the band plays their final song. While it might be a sinking ship, I'm going to scratch and claw until the ship is completely submerged. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Jake Guentzel- 1 goal

2nd Star- Sebastian Aho- 1 assist

1st Star- Andrei Svechnikov- 1 goal, 1 assist

Pyotr Kochetkov deserves an honorable mention for doing everything in his power to win this game. Unfortunately, he can't score goals, too. The top line can, though. The Canes' top trio combined for both goals and four of the team's six points in the game. It brings their total to 13 points for the series. Svechnikov was arguably the best player on the ice for either side. He finished with game-highs in shots (6) and hits (6).

Next Game- The Hurricanes' season will come to an end on Saturday if they aren't able to beat the Rangers. It's likely to come in the next few days, but I'll be here until the bitter end. I think Pyotr Kochetkov did more than enough to earn the start again in Game 4, though I've been wrong about the starter more than I've been right.