2024 Postseason: 2nd Round, Game 5: Hurricanes at New York Rangers

The Hurricanes survived another day by getting a late goal on the power play on Saturday night to win Game 4 4-3. Brady Skjei's blast from the point beat Igor Shesterkin with less than four minutes left to keep the season going for at least one more game. The Canes dominated the early portion of the game, leading 3-1 before the Rangers came back to tie it, forcing the Canes' power play to come up with its first goal of the series. The Rangers now have a chance to end things in front of their fans at Madison Square Garden, while the Hurricanes aim to get the series back to Raleigh with more momentum.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

NYR (6:23)- Jacob Trouba (1) SH (unassisted)

3rd Period

CAR (3:33)- Jordan Staal (1) (assisted by Dmitry Orlov (3))

CAR (6:39)- Evgeny Kuznetsov (4) (assisted by Brady Skjei (8) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1))

CAR (9:56)- Jordan Martinook (2) (assisted by Jack Drury (3) & Martin Necas (5))

CAR (16:31)- Martin Necas (3) EN (assisted by Jack Drury (4) & Jalen Chatfield (2))

My Thoughts

The most dangerous thing you can give a man is hope, and boy, do I have it in spades right now. That third period will either be the turning point in the series or the biggest tease ever if the Hurricanes don't win on Thursday night. It had just about everything you could've hoped for. Everyone but the top line scored in the third, with the Drury line scoring twice. The Canes deserved what they got in the third period, though they also earned every bit of it by being more aggressive and knowing they had no choice but to give it their all with their season on the line. Now, the Rangers are looking around and trying to figure out what is happening. They looked poised to advance after 40 minutes. They had been in control of the game for most of the night. All of that turned within ten minutes in the third period. 

The captain set the tone for the entire night. Even before he scored the tying goal early in the third period, Jordan Staal was the team's best player for most of the game. His goal was a long time coming because he'd been all around the net without burying a shot. He worked his way through the defense after coming off the bench, opening the floodgates for the rest of his team. Evgeny Kuznetsov has goals in consecutive games, scoring the game-winner after refusing to let Artemi Panarin tie up his stick. He took a very dumb penalty in the offensive zone in the first period, so this was the perfect way to atone for his mistake. The best line in the third was the Drury line. This might've been one of Jack Drury's best games professionally. He put his body on the line and ended the night with a pair of helpers. Martin Necas was the only other player with multiple points, assisting on Jordan Martinook's goal and scoring into the empty net. 

This was the first game in this series in which the winner of the special teams battle didn't win the game. The Rangers scored the only goal on special teams, opening the scoring with a short-handed marker in the second period. This goal had all the markings of a backbreaker for the Canes. Instead, they dug in and played much better in the third. They also came up with a huge penalty kill in the latter stages of the game after Andrei Svechnikov decided to throw the puck into the crowd from the defensive zone. The kill has now been perfect in the last three games, killing their last eight penalties. It's a far cry from where things were last week, with the Canes struggling to kill anything. I've given up hoping that the power play will improve, but so long as they quit allowing short-handed goals and kill their mistakes, this series is still within reach.

The Hurricanes are still trailing 3-2 in the series, but Thursday almost feels like a must-win for the Rangers. Maybe I'm overflowing that a little, though the momentum is squarely back in the Canes' corner with their upcoming home game. If this series goes to a seventh game, I'm not sure who I feel would have the edge. I felt the Canes had it when they hosted Game 7 in 2022, and we all know how that ended. To get to that point, the Hurricanes have to do the job one more time. I said I was going down with the ship, though things are looking halfway decent from the Titanic tonight.

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Martin Necas- 1 goal, 1 assist

With the top line not producing much tonight, it was going to be a big chance for the rest of the lineup to come alive. I'd say the Drury line did that pretty well. Necas probably should've earned a primary assist on Martinook's goal, but Drury touched it first. He finished it up by firing the puck from the defensive end to ice it and send the series back home. 

2nd Star- Jordan Staal- 1 goal

Every time Staal has a game like this, I talk about captains leading by example. Both captains scored tonight, but the Canes' captain was on fire from the start. He had an incredible chance in the opening seconds, setting the tone for the rest of his night. At one point, he was playing keep-away from the rest of the Rangers in the third period. It was good to see Staal finally get rewarded for his efforts tonight.

1st Star- Jack Drury- 2 assists

While it could've easily been Staal here, I went with Drury. Early in the second period, Drury went all out to block two chances from the point by Roslovic, taking forever to get back to the bench. This was just a small part of his game. His forecheck is what led to Trouba turning the puck over before Martinook's goal. Add another primary assist on the empty-netter and I'd say it was a good night for Drury.

Next Game- The Canes and Rangers will get an extra day for the first time in the series, with Game 6 not slated to be played until Thursday at PNC Arena. I would expect much of the same from both teams on Thursday as far as lineups are concerned. The extra rest will allow the Canes to return to Frederik Andersen, while New York won't think about changing it up with how Igor Shesterkin has been playing this postseason.