Final warning: Rangers down to their final chance to save season

The game

The Rangers had a better first period than in Game One, although not necessarily a faster start as Buchnevich was called for cross-checking Jordan Staal just 16 seconds after the opening faceoff. From there, the Blueshirts played physically and forechecked well, which led to scoring chances and power plays.

Carolina opened the scoring at 4:32 when Andrei Svechnikov beat Henrik Lundqvist from the left circle, sneaking a short-sided shot between “The King’s” right arm and body for his first goal of the series. Lundqvist, who played well in the series opener, got the start when Shesterkin was determined unable to play.

Despite falling behind early again, the Rangers didn’t wilt. Jacob Trouba nailed Justin Williams, and Kreider got a couple of hard shots on Brady Skjei, and nearly tied it just under four minutes later, but Petr Mrazek, barely forced to break a sweat in Game One, absolutely robbed Brett Howden. Greg McKegg set up the chance when he burst down the right wall and behind the net, then dished to a wide-open Howden, whose bid from the slot was gloved by Mrazek.

The Rangers tied it on a two-man advantage at 12:05 of the first period when Panarin buried a beautiful cross-slot feed from Strome. The 5-on-3 was set up when Phillip Di Giuseppe drew an interference call on Haydn Fleury, followed by a penalty on Aho for slashing Zibanejad.

Tony DeAngelo’s seam-pass from the right point to Strome at the bottom of the left circle was perfect. Strome then fed Panarin in the low right circle, who tied it with six seconds remaining on the two-man advantage. The power-play goal was New York’s first of the series after going scoreless in seven opportunities in Game One.

The Rangers nearly took the lead before the first intermission when Zibanejad found himself in alone on Mrazek. But much like Howden, Zibanejad couldn’t quite lift the puck over the goaltender’s glove; Mrazek barely had to move.

By the first intermission, the Rangers appeared to have buried the memories of Game One, when they were outshot 12-4 and, thanks only to Lundqvist, were outscored 1-0. This time, the match was knotted at 1 and Rangers had outshot Carolina 7-6.

“I liked our first period,” Quinn said. “I thought we did a lot of the things we needed to do.”

However, the ice under the Rangers gave way early in the second period, as Carolina seized a 3-1 lead on goals 71 seconds apart. Svechnikov scored on the power play at 1:11, blasting one over the shoulder of an unscreened Lundqvist. The Canes made it 3-1 after capitalizing on two Rangers’ turnovers and a defensive gaffe.

First, Filip Chytil turned over the puck in the neutral zone. The Canes gained the offensive zone and threatened, but the Blueshirts had a chance to clear the zone. However, DeAngelo’s flip pass was held in and sent back deep. Chytil overskated the puck outside the crease, allowing Morgan Geekie to dish to a wide-open Jordan Martinook for an easy goal.

The game was essential over at that point. The Rangers were visibly deflated and didn’t generate much until the final few minutes of the match after Svechnikov buried a feed from Aho at 14:02 to make it 4-1.

“Without question, we got deflated after giving up those two goals in the second,” Quinn said. “It really just changed the whole game. When we got down 3-1, you could just feel it on the bench. It’s a feeling we haven’t had much since the turn of the calendar.”

“We have to be better,” Quinn said. “And we have to be better in a hurry.”