Carolina Rally Falls Short: Rangers 3, Hurricanes 2

The New York Rangers were missing team captain Ryan Callahan and played their backup goalie, but managed to pick up two points against the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-2 win in front of 14,523 on Thursday night at the RBC.

The first place team in the East used their tight checking system to hold the home team to six shots on goal in the first period and seven in the second as they built a lead and held on in the third for the win.

The Rangers are now 26-0-2 when leading after two periods.

After a scoreless first period, Jeff Skinner got things started for the Canes with a hard slap shot that somehow found it's way through Martin Biron just 58 seconds into the second period. This was a powerplay goal for the home team and Skinner's 17th overall of the season. Eric Staal made a nice pass on the play and extended his scoring streak to 10 straight games.

Staal set a franchise record with the helper, (while in Carolina) for most consecutive games with assists, (nine).

The Rangers would score the next three goals though to take control of the game with two goals in the second and one more early in the third.

Carolina had two powerplay opportunities in the third, including a four minute chance when Jay Harrison was bloodied by a high stick with 5:43 left in the game, but the powerplay was ineffective when the team needed it the most.

Kirk Muller pulled Cam Ward from the net for an extra attacker with about 3:40 to go, but the team still could not solve Biron until Harrison backhanded in a rebound with just 39.7 seconds left.

It was the defenseman's eighth of the season.

Next up will be the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

Game Notes:

• The Canes managed 10 shots in the third period but were outshot 25-23. Skinner led the way with five.
• The Rangers had 20 blocked shots, but Carolina had 19 of their own. Bryan Allen, Brandon Sutter, and Harrison had three each.
• Carolina was outhit 19-16. Drayson Bowman, Dererk Joslin, and Sutter had three each.
• Eric Staal looked good again in this game as he created a few chances that did not pan out for him. He also hit the post twice. He led both teams with 24:43 of ice time and won 73% of his faceoffs.
  
• Samson seems to have fallen out of favor with the coaching staff and played a team low 5:43. Boychuk played 15:30 and Bowman 10:14.

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