The storm hasn’t passed yet.
On Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the Hurricanes continued to hover over the Rangers as they regained momentum in the third period and won 4-1 in Game 5 of the second round, ending their second consecutive loss. Avoided.
Carolina has a chance to advance to Game 7 with a win Thursday night at PNC Arena.
Despite holding a 1-0 lead at the start of the final frame, the Blueshirts never fully dominated the game.
It was clear how much Carolina wanted to keep the season alive compared to how much the Rangers wanted to end it.
The Rangers were a step behind most of the puck battles, falling just inches short every time they extended their sticks.
Neither team had much luck on the power play, but the Rangers took advantage of the special teams battle thanks to their aggressive penalty kill. This should be God-fearing for any NHL team.
Captain Jacob Trouba, who jumped out on a 2-on-1 rush with Barclay Goodrow, kept the puck himself and drove home a point to take the lead at 6:23 of the second period.
But for once, it didn’t matter.
The Hurricanes emerged from the second intermission with purpose, tying the score just over three minutes into the third intermission on a goal from Jordan Staal.
It was as if Carolina sensed the shake-up in the Rangers’ organization, and the Hurricanes ran through it.
Evgeny Kuznetsov then sank in a great rebound and Jordan Martinuk scored from the front, bringing the Garden crowd to a standstill.
Martin Necas’ empty netter, the second of the series, officially clinched the game.
At the end of the first period, both teams were scoreless despite having nine shots on goal.
There was a nervous energy in the garden. Fans cheered through it all.
But the Rangers gave the Canes too much space, forcing goaltender Igor Shesterkin to come up with more than a few big stops on his way to making 24 saves on the night.
Shesterkin saved 172 of the 187 shots he saw in the series, and was once again the difference-maker for the Rangers.
The Russian netminder may not have been tested much in the first round, but he certainly made up for it in the second round, as the Rangers needed Shesterkin to pick up a few games.
