The Carolina Hurricanes jumped ahead early in Madison Square Garden, but ultimately fell short as the New York Rangers rallied for a 3-2 win Tuesday night.
MSG has proven to be a house of horrors for the Hurricanes (9-9-4), as the team has not beat the Rangers (16-7-1) on the road since October 2010.
The Canes got off to a quick start in this game, as Stalberg beat Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist, who made 26 saves on 28 shots, through a screen from between the faceoff circles to make it 1-0 Canes a little less than six minutes in. Stalberg spent last season with the Rangers before signing with Carolina as a free agent July 1.
The hot start for the Canes and Stalberg alike continued about seven minutes later, as just after the Rangers killed off what was a good-looking power play for the Canes, Stalberg gathered a loose puck at the side of the net and flicked it past Lundqvist for a 2-0 lead.
New York halved the Canes’ lead about halfway through the second, as defenseman Nick Holden put a shot on Ward that was blocked, but with Ward down following a scramble for the rebound, he grabbed a loose puck and made no mistake to make it 2-1.
The one goal third period lead was short-lived for the Canes. Rangers forward Rick Nash tied it less than 30 seconds in on a beautiful individual play, as he weaved his way through the defense and roofed a wicked backhander over Ward following a turnover at the offensive blue line by defenseman Ron Hainsey.
The Rangers took the lead late, with Hainsey in the box on a double penalty, as he was whistled for hooking and then teed off for arguing the call. The Blueshirts capitalized on the first half of the penalty, as Ward made an incredible save on a point blank chance for Nash, but rookie forward Jimmy Vesey swept home the rebound to make it 3-2 with 5:12 left.
The Canes got a few good chances with Ward on the bench for an extra attacker late, but Lundqvist held them off to preserve the 3-2 lead.
This one will sting for Carolina. The team started very well in building a 2-0 lead, but in a familiar scenario this season, it unraveled in the second and third periods and the Hurricanes came up empty-handed. The team will continue its three-game road trip Thursday against the Bruins in Boston.
