Hurricanes defeated by Rangers

The New York Rangers ended Carolina’s flawless postseason run at home, defeating the Hurricanes 6-2 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series Monday night.

Chris Kreider scored twice, Igor Shesterkin was strong in net once more, and the Rangers ended Carolina’s perfect postseason record at home.

Shesterkin, who was a finalist for both the Vezina Trophy and the Hart Trophy for most valuable player in the league, finished with 36 saves and kept the shutout going far into the third period.

That featured a one-handed stop on Sebastian Aho near the right post while down on his back.

Late in the first period, Shesterkin snatched the puck between his knees and flailed it around like a snow angel.

Rangers jumped out to an early lead thanks to goals from Kreider and Adam Fox on the power play in the first period.

Rangers then rode Shesterkin’s latest offense-stifling performance to win their fifth consecutive postseason elimination game.

In what turned into an unexpected thrashing, Ryan Strome and Filip Chytil also scored, with Andrew Copp adding a late empty-netter.

For the first time since 2015, New York has advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they will face two-time defending Stanley Cup winner Tampa Bay.

The first game of the series will be played in New York on Wednesday night.

Injury to goaltender Antti Raanta and top-line rookie forward Seth Jarvis hindered the Hurricanes.

Raanta fell down with a lower-body injury while stretching out his right leg for a stop in the second period after Jarvis absorbed a jarring hard hit in the first period.

Neither player came back into the game.

Before his injury, Raanta had made 16 saves, while in relief, youngster Pyotr Kochetkov conceded three goals on 12 shots.

More impressively, the Rangers won in a building where the Hurricanes had gone 7-0 in the playoffs, including the first three games of this series.

Coach Gerard Gallant of the New York Knicks remarked on Sunday that his players “have a lot of fun and believe in themselves.”

They appeared to be doing plenty of both on Monday, as they capped their second straight comeback victory from a multi-game deficit.

First, they overcame Pittsburgh in a seven-game first-round series after falling behind 3-1. Then, despite falling behind 2-0 in this series, New York rallied to reach the Eastern Conference finals.

Midway in the third period, Tony DeAngelo eventually beat Shesterkin. And, in a reminder of the night’s intensity, the Rangers responded with Chytil’s goal just 40 seconds later, extending the lead to 5-1.

The Hurricanes’ Max Domi also scored a late goal.

Beyond the Rangers capitalizing on those early man-advantage opportunities for a quick 2-0 lead, which matched the Rangers’ goal output in their first three games in Raleigh, Carolina had a bad night all around.

No Priorities

Since the old Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina in 1997, the Hurricanes have gone 6-0 in Game 7s.

They were attempting to make history by becoming the first club in NHL history to win seven consecutive Game 7s.

Carolina was also attempting to become the first team in playoff history to win three best-of-seven series with no road wins.

Production of Elimination Games

Fox now has 10 points in elimination games this postseason after scoring and assisting on Kreider’s opening goal.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, he surpassed Ray Bourque in 1980, Ian Turnbull in 1976, and Denis Potvin in 1975 as the most by a defenseman in a single postseason.