Recap: Canes' Comeback Cut Short By Rangers

RALEIGH, N.C. - Two-point performances by Sebastian Aho and Shayne Gostisbehere gave the Carolina Hurricanes a chance on Wednesday, but a stout showing from Igor Shesterkin helped the New York Rangers to a 4-2 win at Lenovo Center.

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A 13-4 shot advantage in favor of Carolina told one story of the first 20 minutes, but the scoreboard told another, as Noah Laba's marker at 16:53 lifted New York to the game's first lead.

After the break, though, an early power play in the second period gave Carolina a golden opportunity, and for the second straight game, Gostisbehere got his team on the board and leveled the score at 5:04.

The deadlock lasted until two Rangers tallies separated by just 1:49 - with the second intermission sandwiched in between - boosted the visitors to what proved to be an unassailable advantage.

The Hurricanes controlled play throughout the remainder of the contest, highlighted by Seth Jarvis' short-side snipe at 10:53 to get within a goal, but their third-period dominance did not yield a tying tally. Will Cuylle's late empty-netter ultimately clinched two points for New York.

Making his 13th start of the season, Frederik Andersen turned aside 14 of 17 shots for the Hurricanes. At the other end, Shesterkin weathered a Carolina barrage with 36 saves on 38 shots.

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Sebastian Aho skated in his 700th career game on Wednesday, becoming the fifth player in Hurricanes team history (since relocation) to reach that benchmark entirely with the club.
• Registering two assists on Wednesday, Aho boasts 654 points (291G, 363A) through his milestone outing. Only Ron Francis posted more points (798) among Hurricanes/Whalers players through 700 games with the franchise.
• Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the second consecutive contest and added a helper, extending his total to 16 points in 14 games (3G, 13A). Gostisbehere is one of just four NHL blueliners averaging a point per game (min. 10 GP).
• With Gostisbehere's man-advantage marker, Carolina has now scored a power-play goal in three straight games for the first time this season.
• Forward Nikolaj Ehlers notched an assist on Gostisbehere's opener. The 306th apple of his career, Ehlers is tied with Frans Nielsen for the most by a Danish player in NHL history.
• Forward Seth Jarvis scored his team-leading 12th goal of the campaign, finding the scoresheet for the third time in his last four games. Jarvis' 19 points (12G, 7A) are tied for the most through the first 23 games of a season in his career.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour after the contest...

"We played really well. We played hard. We made a couple of mistakes. The D-zone coverage with a minute to go (in the second period), we blew the coverage. We can't do that against that line. We took a little breather (on their third goal). One on three, we just kind of back in, and then all of a sudden, you're giving the best players time, and that's not what we do. It ended up in the net, and that's kind of the game, right? We couldn't outscore the couple of mistakes we made.... Clearly, we needed to score on some of our chances. You can't have that many opportunities and not come away with more than what we did."

Sebastian Aho following the final horn...

"Hard-fought game. Two good teams going at it. Both teams had their looks, and obviously, they were able to squeeze a win here. The effort was definitely better than last game for us. A couple errors here and there, it cost us. The way we played was a step in the right direction."

K'Andre Miller on the team getting just three goals on 68 shots over the past two games...

"The puck's just not going in the net. We're getting our chances, we're getting shots, we're creating looks. Obviously, they have a pretty good goalie over there who made some pretty good saves. We're getting our looks. It's not going to be as easy as snapping the fingers every night, so I think we're going to have to figure out ways to work for our chances and keep finding ways to put the puck in the back of the net."

Rod Brind'Amour looking at the bigger picture...

"In this stretch of games, we had one poor game. That's it. Unfortunately, we haven't really gotten what we probably deserved, points-wise. That's tough. You've got to win games. It's always going to be about the details. You can have 10 good shifts, but that one that you let up, that's going to cost you the game. We have to eliminate those. We were in one tonight without Jordo. That's a big, big loss for us. It sets our team up a little differently, but you've got injuries, and you've got to deal with them."

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes will practice on Thursday. They'll then host the Winnipeg Jets for a 5 p.m. Black Friday showdown.
• Next Game: Friday, Nov. 28 vs. Winnipeg | 5:00 p.m. ET | Tickets | Parking