Carolina Prevails in Overtime as Rangers’ Offensive Woes Continue
Hockey in Raleigh is always a night to remember, especially when it's against division rivals. Coming into tonight, tied in the regular-season series, New York and Carolina clashed once again. Carolina looked to defend home ice as New York came into tonight following another shutout loss, as they looked to continue their search for some offense with the absence of J.T. Miller. Fans in North Carolina were treated to a goaltending battle, one too good to end in regulation. A minor extra hockey for these fans, as they were treated to two points after the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime in Raleigh.
Tonight began with the Rangers on their feet right as the puck dropped. A quick odd-man rush in the opening seconds was shut down by Carolina goaltender Brandon Bussi as he denied Will Cuylle, and another soon after did the same to Noah Laba, but not before Carolina took a penalty. A penalty Carolina would quickly pay the price for as Vladislav Gavrikov wasted no time making it 1-0 Rangers with a one-timer from the top of the circle. An early lead for New York, as rare as that looks these days, this was only just the beginning. Looking for a response, New York's old friend K'Andre Miller came quite close with a shot off the post. A pair of penalties by New York led to Carolina's equalizer: as brilliant as Igor Shesterkin was to start the game, Sebastian Aho picked the corner and tied the game. Carolina had the better look that period, but the game remained tied going into the second.
Period number two began, and Carolina kept the pressure going, but Shesterkin wasn't gonna be beaten too easily. New York rarely saw themselves in the Caroline zone as the Hurricanes just never let up, but the score remained tied. Carolina kept firing, but just couldn't get one past Shesterkin. The Hurricanes brought the pressure all period, but New York found a way to get back in front when a deflection came right to Jonny Brodzinski with an open net; an easy shot made it 2-1 Rangers. A big backbreaker as Carolina had New York pinned with Shesterkin being the only Ranger they couldn't beat. Another period that Carolina looked on top, but it was the Rangers that went into the final period in front.
The final twenty minutes began, and it started in the Rangers' zone as expected. New York may not have had as many good chances as Carolina, but Bussi stayed strong when he had to. After robbery after robbery, the Hurricanes at long last prevailed as traffic was in front of Igor, the game was tied once again, thanks to Jordan Martinook with 10 minutes to go. As time continued to tick, one of these goalies needed to be beaten despite their dominance. These goaltenders wouldn't let up, so unsurprisingly, some more hockey was needed; on to overtime they went.
With a point now secured for both teams, overtime went off. New York may have started with possession, but it was all Carolina. Now, it was up to them to beat Shesterkin one last time. A Carolina power play gave them their chance to seal this game, and that's precisely what they did. A shot by Sebastian Aho found its way past Shesterkin off a redirect by Jackson Blake, ending this goaltending duel.
Another night of miraculous goaltending, but only one comes out on top at the end of the night. A point is a point, no matter the result, and it would seem New York needs every point they can get until they can find some offense. Shesterkin was magnificent as always, but when the offense can't find a way to score, there's nothing any goaltender can do. Carolina heads off to Pittsburgh while the Blueshirts take the point and journey to Washington.
