Rangers defeat Hurricanes in Game 3, get first win in second round

NEW YORK --Igor Shesterkin made 43 saves, and the New York Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

"We felt like we were going to win the hockey game tonight," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Our goalie was outstanding in the first half of the game. Made some big, key saves for us, but I thought we played well enough to win."
Shesterkin made 35 saves through the first two periods, and Carolina had 17 shot attempts blocked and another 14 missed the net in the game.
"It's a good thing that they took] so many shots," Shesterkin said through a translator. "They really were just trying to shoot from everywhere, trying to feel out the game. But none of those shots were really dangerous."
Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, and Chris Kreider scored his sixth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Rangers, the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division.
[RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
New York trails the best-of-7 series, 2-1. Game 4 is here Tuesday.
The Rangers entered Sunday with one goal scored in the series, losing 2-1 in overtime in Game 1 and 2-0 in Game 2.
"We had a good start (tonight)," Kreider said. "Shored up some of the details that weren't necessarily there the first couple of games. … It was a 20-man effort tonight."

Nino Niederreiter scored, and Antti Raanta made 30 saves for the Hurricanes, the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division. Carolina is 0-4 on the road in the playoffs and 6-0 at home.
"[Games] all kind of [stink] if you don't win it, but I think overall we definitely had our opportunities to win the game. … I would take that game most nights to be quite honest with you," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "… I'm assuming we had pretty good opportunities, Grade-A's. … We didn't capitalize on the power play, we needed to, and they did."
The Hurricanes were 0-for-3 on the power play with seven shots on goal. The Rangers were 1-for-2.
Zibanejad made it 1-0 at 11:54 of the first period on a shot from the left circle after taking a cross-ice feed from Artemi Panarin. The power-play goal was the first goal scored by New York since the first period of Game 1, ending Raanta's shutout streak end at 127:59.
Kreider extended the lead to 2-0 at 5:55 of the second period, scoring top shelf from the left circle after carrying the puck out from behind the net.
"I think we played, finally, (a full) 60 minutes," Rangers forward Filip Chytil said. "In the first two periods, we played how we wanted to play. In the third period, we didn't back off like the first game and I think the win was deserved."

Niederreiter cut it to 2-1 at 8:18 of the second, scoring on a backhand from the right circle.
"I did try to see if somebody was coming down from the far side, but at the end of the day, I came close to the net and felt like I was trying to go short side and I'm glad it went in," Niederreiter said.
Tyler Motte scored an empty-net goal with 1:23 remaining for the 3-1 final.
"Our guys battled hard," Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "Put a lot of shots on net. Had a lot of good opportunities. At the end of the day, it's not good enough. Got to do better on the kill, got to do better on the power play."
NOTES: The Rangers won their fourth straight home game in the playoffs since a 4-3 triple-overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the first round. ... Kreider scored his 30th career postseason goal, passing Mark Messier for second place on the Rangers' all-time list. He trails Rod Gilbert (34). ... Zibanejad has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past five games. ... The Hurricanes have allowed six power-play goals on 19 opportunities on the road this postseason. … Raanta is 0-3 with a 3.44 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in three road games, and 5-0 with a 0.97 GAA, .968 save percentage and one shutout in six home games. … The goal by Motte was his first point with the Rangers after being acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on March 21. The forward played nine regular-season games before sustaining an upper-body injury April 7 that kept him out of the remainder of the season and Games 1-5 of the Rangers' seven-game series win against the Penguins in the first round.