In their second outing without their captain, center Jordan Staal, the Carolina Hurricanes spent another night chasing the game, falling short in the end.
Although the Canes (14-7-2) shut out the Rangers (12-11-2) earlier in the season, they spent most of the match chasing the puck and the chances they needed to jump ahead. They had opportunities, but as their possession and pace faded throughout the game, the finishes never materialized.
Center Vincent Trocheck was exactly what the Rangers needed, making his mark 45 seconds into the third period. Winger Artemi Panarin skated the puck through the defense into the zone and found Trocheck waiting outside the paint. With no defenders in sight, he had plenty of time to set it up and let one fly past his former teammate, tallying the game-winning goal, taking a 3-1 lead.
The Rangers, also recording the first goal, made the Canes look unorganized in their defensive zone. Showing off his stick-handling skills around the defense, defenseman Matthew Robertson went for the shot but was denied, leaving the puck in the midst of a scramble. Picked up by the Rangers, center Noah Laba skated around to the front of the net, placing the puck directly above goaltender Frederik Andersen’s shoulder, giving him no chance.
“You can’t fault [Andersen] on the goals or anything,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We didn’t give up a ton. We have to find ways to obviously not give up those couple of little ones, but they’re just going to happen. Clearly, we needed to score on some of our chances, can’t have that many opportunities and not come away with some more than what we did.”
Although never holding the lead, the Hurricanes managed to even out the score at the beginning of the second period. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere buried a one-timer from the slot on the power play — his second power-play goal within two games, as well as eight points in the last eight games. Center Sebastian Aho, playing in his 700th NHL game, tallied the assist.
Not allowing the lead to be stripped from them for long, the Rangers capitalized on their offensive zone face-off. Getting the puck to Panarin with minimal passes, he snapped it into the net before Andersen could shift into position.
Scoring the only other goal for the Canes, and giving them a glimpse of hope, center Seth Jarvis received the puck from Gostisbehere and went top shelf to get his team back within one. Both being on the top line, they complement each other often, showing their chemistry.
“He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s pretty gritty in the sense he goes to the dirty areas,” Gostisbehere said. “Even the way he plays offense, he’s always going to the blue paint. Obviously, he was a big factor, might not get a lot of glory there, but he’s a big factor in me scoring and taking the goalie’s eyes away.”
Stealing all hope of a win from the Canes, winger Will Cuylle sent the puck from the neutral zone into the empty net, doubling the lead and sealing the win.
The Hurricanes will continue their seven-game home stretch on Friday, Nov. 28, at 5 p.m. against the Winnipeg Jets.
