The Carolina Hurricanes are still alive, and the New York Rangers — who opened this post-season with seven straight wins — now find themselves riding a two-game losing streak.
Facing elimination in their second-round Eastern Conference series, Carolina won their second straight on Monday at Madison Square Garden, quieting the crowd of New Yorkers with a come-from-behind 4-1 win thanks to three unanswered goals in the third period, plus the cherry-on-top empty-netter.
Carolina’s comeback was spurred by captain Jordan Staal, who tied things up in the final frame with his first goal of the series, and opened the floodgates against New York and their super steady goaltender, Igor Shesterkin.
Game 5 was high stakes: The Rangers trying to earn a trip to the Eastern Conference Final at home, the Hurricanes attempting to stave off elimination with their backs against the wall.
“It’s going to be a dog fight,” Carolina forward Evgeny Kuznetsov told Sportsnet host Shawn McKenzie, before the game. “There’s one bowl of food and two dogs.”
Here are our takeaways from Game 5, which saw Kuznetsov pot the dog fight winner:
Short-handed Rangers strike again
This game was scoreless and pretty even until 6:23 into the second period, when New York got on the board.
Carolina had just killed a penalty when they drew one themselves, and Rangers winger Jack Roslovic headed to the box for two minutes for tripping Dmitry Orlov.
For the fourth time this post-season, the Rangers scored while a man down. After blocking a shot, Jacob Trouba earned himself a two-on-one, and fired the puck over Frederik Andersen’s right pad to give New York the 1-0 lead. It was Trouba’s first goal in 41 games, and it got the crowd at MSG roaring.
Captain Staal leads comeback efforts
Jordan Staal had no goals in the series heading into Game 5, but the captain had been buzzing and generating chances. He was one of many Hurricanes who couln’t beat Shesterkin.
But Staal made one heck of a play to find the back of the net, tying things up in the third period.
He got a pass from Orlov just outside the blueline, then drove down the left wing, made a power move around Braden Schneider, and tucked the backhand past a sprawled Shesterkin.
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It was 1-1, 3:33 into the third period, and the Hurricanes were right back in it.
Kuznetsov takes flight again
Earlier in this game, Evgeny Kuznetsov took his second offensive penalty of the series — and then the goal-scorer did what he often does, and totally redeemed himself in the process.
Three minutes after Staal tied things up, Kuznetsov jumped on a Brady Skjei rebound to score his third in his past five games, giving Carolina the lead with a goal that stood up as the winner.
His celebration was fitting of a winning goal, that signature bird wing-flapping, with a single leg in the air, for a very quiet crowd at MSG.
After the game, Kuznetsov’s celebrations continued — he was dancing in his team’s dressing room.
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Floodgates opened
It was all Carolina after that.
Jordan Martinook, who scored Carolina’s third of the third off a Martin Necas pass that eventually found him in the slot, fired the puck over Shesterkin’s blocker.
It was Necas who added the empty-netter.
The Great One comes out to MSG
Among the famous fans who were hoping to see the Rangers clinch a berth to the conference finals at home was none other than Wayne Gretzky. No. 99 retired as a Ranger in 1999 after three seasons with the team, and helped lead them to the Eastern Conference final in 1997.
Gretzky was shown on the arena’s big screen in the first period and fans went appropriately bananas for the man who rewrote the NHL’s record books and retired in this very building 25 years ago. Just like that night, Gretzky blew kisses to the crowd.
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Carolina finally rewarded against ever-steady Igor
The difference so often in this series that saw every game other than Monday’s decided by one goal, and two decided in OT, has been the Rangers goalie. No goaltender in the post-season has made more saves per game to this point than the 28-year-old Shesterkin.
Carolina out-shot New York once again on Monday, as they have in every game, and for the second straight game, they were actually rewarded for their efforts.
The series heads back to Raleigh for Game 6, with New York leading 3-2.
