RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Artemi Panarin redirected a pass between his legs at the crease to beat Pyotr Kotchetkov just 1:43 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round NHL playoff series.
Panarin scored after Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov lost control of a puck in the corner in the defensive zone. Vincent Trocheck collected it on the right side and sent it toward the crease to Panarin, who tipped the puck behind him as defenseman Jalen Chatfield tried to push him away from the crease.
The puck slipped under the right elbow and past the ribs of Kotchetkov, sending Panarin into celebration and the Rangers soon joining him near the door toward the tunnel off the ice.
The Rangers, who are 7-0 in the postseason after sweeping Washington in Round 1, can complete the sweep in Game 4 here Saturday night.
Chris Kreider and Alexis LaFreniere also scored goals for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin made 45 saves.
Jake Guentzel had a first-period goal for Carolina, while Andrei Svechnikov tied it with 1:36 left to force the overtime and send a jolt through the home crowd.
The series looked as if it had the potential for heavy drama considering the Metropolitan Division-winning Rangers also won the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season team, while the Hurricanes — in the playoffs for the sixth time in six seasons — finished three points behind and entered the NHL playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook,
Yet the Rangers have turned this into a display of confident and clutch play after winning by 4-3 scores in both games in New York.
Beyond Panarin’s finish, there was Kreider’s charge up the ice past Brent Burns to finish a feed from Mika Zibanejad for a short-handed goal that tied it at 1 and drained Carolina’s sustained momentum from Guentzel’s first score. And that ultimately captured a piece of another frustrating night for Carolina on the power play — along with a clear edge for New York.
After going 0 for 5 with the man advantage in each of the first two games, Carolina — which was the league’s No. 2 team on the power play with the man advantage — went 0 for 5 yet again to stand at 0 for 15 in the series.
Carolina gave the nod to Kotchetkov in net after Frederik Andersen had played all seven playoff games so far, allowing eight goals on 62 shots in the first two games against the Rangers. Kotchetkov finished with 22 saves.
The Rangers had their own lineup change, with forward Filip Chytil — who had been ruled out for the season in January — getting his first action since November after being sidelined with an upper-body injury.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
