Mika Zibanejad helped the New York Rangers start strong in their first game in a week, and they held on to secure a significant win in their second-round series opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Zibanejad scored two goals and provided an assist, and Artemi Panarin also found the net as the Rangers won 4-3 against the Hurricanes in Game 1 on Sunday.
Vincent Trocheck contributed a goal and an assist, while Chris Kreider provided two assists as the Rangers, playing for the first time after completing their first-round sweep of Washington one week earlier, secured their seventh straight win, including the regular season.
“We really wanted to have a good start, especially at home, in Game 1,” Zibanejad said. “Having had a few days off and the chance to rest, I thought that was most noticeable. The guys were excited to play, and when we were able to capitalize on our early chances and gain some momentum, that was great.”
Igor Shesterkin stopped 22 shots to become the third goalie in franchise history to begin a postseason with five consecutive wins, joining Dave Kerr (1937) and Mike Richter (1994).
“A week out from the last time you played, I thought the start was really good, and we followed that through the game,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.
Jaccob Slavin, Martin Necas, and Seth Jarvis each scored a goal for Carolina, which last played Tuesday night when it completed its first-round win against the New York Islanders. Frederik Andersen finished with 19 saves.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night.
The Hurricanes had the second-best power play in the NHL during the season and the top penalty-killing unit. However, they went 0 for 5 with five shots on goal during the advantages against a Rangers team that was third on the PK. New York was 2 for 2 on its power plays that totaled 23 seconds.
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. ”On a couple of (penalty) kills we didn’t quite execute right and they did. … We were just a step off, and that’s the difference. It’s tough because we played pretty hard. Overall, as the game went on, we got a little better.”
Necas had a one-on-one opportunity against Shesterkin early in the third period and swiftly scored to bring the Hurricanes to 3-2 at 2:48.
Panarin defeated Andersen from the left circle at 8:21 to reinstate the Rangers’ two-goal lead. It was his third goal of the playoffs after finishing with a career-high 49 in the regular season.
Carolina removed Andersen for an extra skater with 3 minutes to go, and Jarvis scored from the left side with 1:45 remaining.
Shesterkin made a glove save on Andrei Svechnikov with just under a minute remaining to maintain the Rangers’ lead.
Jacob Trouba was penalized for cross-checking 2 1/2 minutes into the second period. The Hurricanes got one shot on goal during the advantage. After the penalty expired, the Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal had a breakaway, but his attempt was saved by Shesterkin.
The Hurricanes got another power play with 4:46 left in the period, but did not get a shot on goal during the advantage.
Zibanejad scored the Rangers' first goal just 2:46 into the game with a quick shot after receiving a pass in front of the net from Jack Roslovic.
Slavin equalized 1:02 later with a shot from the left point that bounced and went over Shesterkin’s right shoulder.
Brady Skjei, a Carolina defenseman, hit the right post with a shot just 20 seconds later.
The Hurricanes got a power play when Kreider was penalized for boarding at 6:14. Shortly after, Necas hit the left post with a shot.
New York went on the power play when Tony DeAngelo was penalized for roughing. Kreider quickly assisted Zibanejad for a goal.
The Rangers scored their second power play goal with 3:46 remaining, as Trocheck put in the rebound of Zibanejad’s shot.
Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho expressed the need for a better start in the first game of the new round, as the crowd was energetic.
Trocheck scored his fourth playoff goal, extending his goal streak to four games and point streak to five games.
Laviolette mentioned that they rely on him for both offense and defense, and that his performance in this game reflected his regular season play.
Zibanejad has a point streak of 11 games, including the regular season, with five goals and 13 assists. Roslovic's point streak has now reached six games.
