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The Carolina Hurricanes failed to finish off their series against the New York Rangers last night, falling 5-2 in Game 6.
The Hurricanes came out strong with a good forecheck and were creating some chances early. Sebastian Aho had a breakaway about seven minutes into the game but was stopped point-blank by Igor Shesterkin – and then just after he didn’t convert, the Rangers went back the other way and Tyler Motte managed to sneak a puck through Antti Raanta, on what was a rare bad goal against the netminder. Then after Brendan Smith took a penalty, Mika Zibanejad made a nice move to get past Brady Skjei for an entry and then slid the puck past Raanta, on yet another goal that really should've been stopped. New York had the momentum after that and while Carolina actually got some great chances later in the frame, Shesterkin kept the Rangers up 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
Only about 3:30 into the second period, Filip Chytil came down the wing on an odd-man rush and beat Raanta with a nice wrist shot, extending the lead to three goals, with Pyotr Kochetkov then coming in to replace Raanta. Brady Skjei did get Carolina on the board with a nice wrist shot off a rush but then under two minutes later, Chytil scored his second goal of the game, putting a well-placed backhand shot past Kochetkov. The Hurricanes did build momentum and Vincent Trocheck pulled the game to within two goals, but Carolina couldn’t capitalize on two more power play opportunities after that, and it remained 4-2 Rangers after 40 minutes.
The Rangers restored the three-goal lead on a power play about eight minutes into the third period, with Artemi Panarin spinning and scoring five-hole with a good release. Despite Carolina outshooting the Rangers 13-6 in the final frame, they couldn’t get any closer and the Rangers hung on for a 5-2 win.
The Hurricanes once again put together a strong game, outshooting the Rangers by a 39-25 margin. Two things sunk the Hurricanes, however: goaltending and special teams.
Antti Raanta has been great for the Hurricanes in the playoffs but seeing the team go down by two in the first period off two pretty weak goals was rough. Then when Kochetkov came in, the two goals he allowed were certainly stoppable and the team allowing five goals on 25 shots can't happen. Given his performance this postseason, Raanta is poised to bounce back for Game 7 but last night was certainly his worst game of the playoffs.
Then once again, special teams were an issue. The Hurricanes’ power play couldn’t get anything going again, going 0-for-3 and squandering a chance to get back into the game in the second period. On the other hand, the Rangers went 2-for-5 on their power play opportunities.
With the loss, Carolina falls to a ridiculous 0-6 on the road in the playoffs and need to count on winning at home to advance. The good news is the Hurricanes have been perfect at home so far at 7-0 and even after missing a chance to close out the series, you still have to feel good about Carolina’s chances.
Game 7 takes place on Monday in Carolina.
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