3 Rangers takeaways after skid reaches 4 games with 4-3 loss to Hurricanes
The effort by the New York Rangers on Wednesday night was better, but the result was the same as the previous three games. The Rangers coughed up a third-period lead in Raleigh and dropped a 4-3 decision to the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, their fourth loss in a row.
The Rangers (12-8-1) turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead on second-period goals by Brett Berard and Adam Edstrom. But the Hurricanes dominated the third period and got goals by Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jackson Blake to take the lead, then shut down the Rangers the rest of the way to win their ninth home game in a row at Lenovo Arena.
“The effort was good, (but) nobody feels good,” coach Peter Laviolette said after the first meeting between the teams since the Rangers eliminated the Hurricanes from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring. “We ended up losing a hockey game we were winning going into the third period.”
New York limited the shoot-first Hurricanes to 30 shots on goal against Igor Shesterkin. But the shot attempts were 68-45 for the ’Canes, and Carolina had all six high-danger chances at 5-on-5 in the third period, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“We’re going through a little bit of adversity as a group,” captain Jacob Trouba said. “Everybody knows it’s probably a better effort for us, but there’s not really any moral victories at this level. We’ve got to keep grinding, keep putting the work in and turn this thing around as a group.”
There’s no arguing that this was the best effort during the losing streak. But as defenseman Ryan Lindgren put it succinctly: “Four in a row is four in a row. We’ve got to change that.”
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3 takeaways from Rangers 4-3 loss to Hurricanes
Here are three takeaways from the game Wednesday.
1. No answers in third period — again
The Rangers entered Wednesday 10-0-0 when leading after two periods, though they hadn’t taken a lead into the final 20 minutes since their 2-0 win against the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 17. They were outscored 6-1 in the third period in the losses to the Flames, Oilers and Blues, including the game-winning goal against Calgary and St. Louis.
But for the fourth consecutive game, the Rangers were dominated in the final period. Carolina outscored them 2-0, outshot them 9-6 and controlled play for the large majority of the final 20 minutes.
New York generated little offense after Carolina went ahead, even after pulling Shesterkin for an extra skater in the final 2:18.
“I think we were in a good spot going into the third,” Trouba said. “It just got away from us.”
2. A first for Berard
If there’s been anything for the Rangers to be happy about in the past two games, it’s the play of Berard, a 22-year-old forward who had an assist in his NHL debut against St. Louis and tied the game with his first NHL goal midway through the second period on Wednesday.
Berard broke out of his own zone on a 2-on-1 rush, carried the puck down the left side and beat Carolina goaltender Spencer Martin with a sizzling wrist shot from the left circle. The 2020fifth-round pick was recalled because of an injury to Chris Kreider, but it might be hard to send him back to AHL Hartford when Kreider is ready to go.
Berard wasn’t the only youngster to hit the scoresheet. Another 22-year-old forward, Will Cuylle, had the primary assist on Berard’s goal and is now tied for second on the team with 18 points (nine goals, nine assists). Edstrom, a 23-year-old forward, cashed in a pass by Reilly Smith late in the second period to put the Rangers ahead 3-2.
3. Top forwards are MIA
Fourth-liner Jonny Brodzinski, a healthy scratch in the previous game, scored the in the first period before Berard and Edstrom connected in the second. But the Hurricanes did a great job shutting down the Rangers’ top forwards – especially the line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere.
Panarin, the Rangers’ best forward this season, was limited to one shot on goal, as was Lafreniere. Trocheck had three shots on goal but took a hooking penalty midway through the third period that resulted in the game-winning goal.
Mika Zibanejad, the top-line center, was on the ice for Berard’s goal but didn’t have a point and was credited with just one shot. The Rangers won’t win a lot of games without more production from their big guns.
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