RALEIGH, N.C. – There’s something special happening with these New York Rangers.
You could make a very real case that they have been outplayed in back-to-back games by the Carolina Hurricanes, who have consistently applied pressure and won the shots-on-goal battle. But the Blueshirts are winning where it counts – on the scoreboard – with Thursday’s 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 at PNC Arena giving them a 3-0 stranglehold in the second-round series.
This marked their second consecutive comeback victory, with Alexis Lafrenière scoring the go-ahead goal on a rush feed from Artemi Panarin with 13:35 to play – his third goal in the last two games − and Panarin finishing it off after Canes forward Andrei Svechnikov’s late equalizer forced overtime.
Those clutch efforts helped the Rangers tie a franchise record with seven consecutive playoff wins, matching the high mark from their last championship run 30 years ago. It also handed the Canes just their fifth loss in their last 20 postseason games on home ice.
Adding to the occasion was the long-awaited return of Filip Chytil. The 24-year-old forward’s comeback following an absence of more than six months due to complications from a Nov. 2 concussion stands on its own as a feel-good story, but it’s the Blueshirts’ collective resolve that has them on the precipice of their second Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the last three years.
They’ll have a chance to close out the series right back here on Saturday, with Game 4 puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET.
Weathering the storm
It was no surprise to see desperate Hurricanes come out with a strong push and dominate possession in the opening period.
They outshot the Rangers, 17-7, in the first 20 minutes and took a 1-0 lead on Jake Guentzel’s third goal in the last two games. This one came in similar fashion to his first tally in Game 2, with Carolina’s prized trade-deadline addition lurking around the net and tipping a pass by Igor Shesterkin.
The Canes continued to pepper Shesterkin, living up to their reputation as one of the NHL’s biggest shot volume teams, but the quantity often lacked quality. They were only credited with four high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five through two periods, according to Natural Stat Trick, with the Blueshirts’ netminder swallowing up all of their long-range attempts while limiting the rebound opportunities.
More time at 5v5 likely would have benefited Carolina, but a chippy Game 3 devolved into another penalty fest. And that benefited the Rangers, as it has throughout the first few weeks of the playoffs.
New York’s streak of scoring at least one power-play goal in five consecutive games came to an end, but the penalty kill made up for it. Mika Zibanejad sparked the tying goal on a second-period PK with a takeaway and a quick move to start a two-on-one rush, ending the impressive sequence by feeding Chris Kreider for the finish to make it 1-1 at the 8:30 mark.
The assist tied Zibanejad for most points (12) in franchise history through seven playoff games while giving the Rangers their third shorthanded goal of the postseason. They went 5-for-5 on the PK for third consecutive game and have killed 23 in a row overall. Their overall success rate in these playoffs is 93.8% (30-for-32), as they continue to dominate the ever-important special teams’ battle.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.