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New York Rangers: No quit in this team as they edge Carolina 2-1

By Steve Paulus

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 19: Kevin Shattenkirk #22 of the New York Rangers looks to pass the puck down ice against the Carolina Hurricanes during an NHL game on February 19, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Karl DeBlaker/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 19: Kevin Shattenkirk #22 of the New York Rangers looks to pass the puck down ice against the Carolina Hurricanes during an NHL game on February 19, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Karl DeBlaker/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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RALEIGH, NC – FEBRUARY 19: Curtis McElhinney #35 of the Carolina Hurricanes deflects the puck out of the crease away from Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers during an NHL game on February 19, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Karl DeBlaker/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – FEBRUARY 19: Curtis McElhinney #35 of the Carolina Hurricanes deflects the puck out of the crease away from Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers during an NHL game on February 19, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Karl DeBlaker/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Notes on the game

  • Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello were held off the scoreboard.  This was the first game that the Rangers scored a  goal without one of those three getting at least  a point since January 8.

    • Connor Brickley

    scored his first goal as a Ranger when the rebound of a

    Filip Chytil

    shot bounced off him into the net.  The goal was originally disallowed, but overturned on review.  It was his first goal since December 30, 2017 when he scored against Montreal as a Florida Panther. For what it is worth, Brickley has shown that he knows how to crash the net.

    The Rangers had  41 second two-man advantage.  They didn’t score. This was their sixth five on three power play totaling 6:15.  They have yet to score on a five on three power play.

    The winning Ranger goal came seconds after a penalty ended so it was one of those “almost a powerplay goal” goals.  This was a case where the second power play unit, quarterbacked by Tony DeAngelo, had a more dynamic shift than the top unit.

    After going 23 games without a goal, Vlad Namestnikov has three goals in three games.

    The key to the game was Lundqvist holding the fort when the Hurricanes fired   ten shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the game.  Coming off a rocky start in Winnipeg, Lundqvist was outstanding.

  • On the only Carolina goal, the Rangers got in trouble when Marc Staal reversed from center ice back into the Rangers’ zone where.  He got the puck to DeAngelo who tried to clear, but it was intercepted by Brock McGinn who started the scoring play.  To give Staal and DeAngelo a break, on replay you could see that DeAngelo’s  pass to Namestnikov richoceted off the referee’s skate and bounced right to McGinn.
  • Speaking of refs, Justin Williams viciously cross checked Brendan Smith into the net in front of the ref. No call.  Smith came back and did the same to Williams and got the crosschecking penalty.
  • Another odd call was on a disallowed Rangers goal in the first minute of the third period.  He was called for goalie interference. I looked at the play in slow motion several times and it appeared that goalie Curtis McElhenney slid into the net with the puck before Kreider made contact with defenseman Brett Pesce. While the goal was iffy, that penalty is never called in scrums around the net.
  • The Rangers had a very good night on faceoffs, winning 52%. Kevin Hayes led the way (73%) and Boo Nieves wasn’t far behind (67%),

    • The fourth line (Brickley, Chytil and Nieves) barely saw eight minutes of ice time, but made the most of it, scoring the first Ranger goal.

    The two teams tied their season series 2-2. The Rangers haven’t lost a season series to the Hurricanes since 2005-06.

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