Alexis Lafniere chose a good time to get off the schneid.
The Rangers forward took the lead in Game 2, firing a shot past Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Anderson at 10:44 of the first period for his first playoff goal in 28 postseason games.
His last playoff record came on May 11, 2022, in Game 5 of a first-round series against the Blueshirt Peggins.
His next case won’t take long.
The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead, Jake Guentzel tied it just over four minutes later, and with six seconds left in the game, Dmitri Orlov deflected his shot past Igor Shesterkin and Lafreniere scored again. I decided.
The 22-year-old slipped Adam Fox’s cross-ice pass behind Anderson to tie the game at 2:12:28, stopping Orlov from stealing the goal all the way.
But the Rangers may need some extra heroics from Lafreniere. Gentztel scored his second goal of the night with 1:42 left in the frame, giving Carolina a 3-2 lead.
Lafreniere entered Game 2 with five assists through five playoff games. In his fourth NHL season, he was expected to make a big splash after posting career-high offensive numbers over the entire regular season with 28 goals, 29 assists, and 57 points.
