RALEIGH, N.C. — The Rangers are headed back home in do-or-die mode once again.
After losing 3-1 to the Hurricanes in Game 5 Thursday night at PNC Arena, the Rangers will need to stave off elimination for a fourth time this postseason at Madison Square Garden on Saturday and be the first team in these playoffs to defeat Carolina at home in a Game 7 Monday in order to keep their season alive.
Carolina now has a chance to clinch this series in New York in Game 6 and advance to play the Lightning in the Eastern Conference final.
The Rangers, on the other hand, will see if they have at least one more comeback in them this season.
The pressure was on the Hurricanes in this one, considering they were defending their unbeaten streak on home ice this postseason and were considered the favorite in this series. But they took the reins on Game 5 and ran away with it.
The Rangers lost all of their jump after they had a goal overturned early in the second period. Ryan Strome whipped himself around and went five-hole on Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta just under five minutes into the middle frame for what would’ve been a one-goal lead, but Carolina challenged for offside and the goal was taken away.
From then on, the Rangers were caught in the eye of the storm.
Shortly after the overturned tally, Frank Vatrano was called for hooking to send the Hurricanes on their first power play of the night. Carolina top-line winger Teuvo Teravainen then sniped one from the bottom of the left faceoff circle for the 2-1 score at 9:47.
Thanks to goalie Igor Shesterkin and the goalposts around him, the Rangers were lucky to head into the third period only down 2-1 after only putting up 10 shots on goal through 40 minutes.
Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov, who hadn’t gotten on the score sheet through the first four games of this series, took the puck away from Adam Fox at center ice and put it past Shesterkin on a breakaway in the third period to secure the win.
PNC Arena took a page from Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena’s book and echoed “IIIGGOORRR” around the building.
Aside from Strome, who led the team with three shots on goal, the Rangers’ marquee forwards went quiet during five-on-five play — and it was far from the first time in these playoffs.
The Rangers’ initial top line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Vatrano totaled just two shots on goal. Even when head coach Gerard Gallant bumped Filip Chytil up in place of Vatrano, that didn’t do much to spark any offense. Without Strome’s three shots, Artemi Panarin generated zero and Andrew Copp had three for the club’s second unit.
Carolina may have gotten the better of the first period in terms of offense, outshooting the Rangers 11-5, but its focus on the officiating and undisciplined penalties had the game tied 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
In two power-play opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, the Rangers saw the good and the bad in their man-advantage play.
As the boos rained down on Jacob Trouba, who landed a massive hit on Max Domi in Game 4, the veteran defenseman coughed up the puck and sprung the Hurricanes on a two-on-one rush. Jordan Staal fed Vincent Trocheck for Carolina’s second shorthanded tally of the series and 1-0 lead at 12:56 of the first.
When Ian Cole was called for cross-checking Trouba later in the period, however, Zibanejad capitalized six seconds into the Rangers’ power play with a bullet slap shot from the left faceoff circle to even the score.
