The Carolina Hurricanes are not a team that should be trailing 0-2 in a series against the New York Rangers. While the first game clearly did not go their way, the second contest was a matter of misfortune, as the decisive goal came in double overtime. That loss prompted head coach Rod Brind’Amour to make lineup changes. One move was predictable: Evgeny Kuznetsov returned to the ice. The other, however, came as a surprise: Petr Kochetkov took over in net, despite Frederik Andersen not being the primary culprit for the goals allowed in New York. The true pressure Carolina could apply was evident in the first period, aided by a too-many-men penalty against the Rangers. That power play provided momentum, and midway through the period, Jake Guentzel deflected a shot from Dmitry Orlov to put the Hurricanes ahead. In that opening frame, both teams committed four penalties, three of which were coincidental. Despite the Rangers managing to improve their shot statistics late in the period with a man advantage, they still trailed 7-17 in shots.
The Rangers stayed in the game thanks to Igor Shesterkin’s outstanding play. It is well known across the league that you must be extremely cautious when facing the Blueshirts on the penalty kill. Carolina increased their pressure in the second period, drawing consecutive penalties from the visitors. At the 8-minute mark, Adam Fox was sent to the penalty box, and a collision between Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov led to a classic counterattack from Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, who tied the score. Moreover, the Rangers generated two more dangerous shorthanded chances. On the first, Kochetkov made a save; on the second, the post came to his rescue. Shesterkin was kept busy, stopping another 20 shots.
In the third period, Carolina’s intensity waned slightly, and the game became more cautious. Nevertheless, the visitors took the lead. The second line connected: Artemi Panarin passed to the center of the zone, where Alexis Lafrenière fired a one-timer wrist shot into the net. Now it was the Hurricanes who needed to come back, and they did so by pulling their goalie for an extra attacker. Svechnikov scored his second goal of the playoffs to force overtime once again. This time, however, the extra period ended quickly. Panarin dumped the puck along the boards into the zone, and Dmitry Orlov failed to control it. Lafrenière sent a cross-ice pass, and Panarin himself scored his fourth game-winning goal of the postseason, tying a franchise record. Now the Carolina Hurricanes are truly on the verge of elimination. Below are the bookmaker odds for Game 4 of the series.
– Carolina Hurricanes win: from 2.19 (BetBoom, Olimpbet) to 2.22 (Liga Stavok, Betsiti)
– New York Rangers win: from 2.78 (BetBoom) to 2.96 (Olimpbet)
Author: Maxim Sidorov
Source: Match Center
Tags: Carolina, Rangers, Stanley Cup, NHL, Hockey Betting, Sports Betting
