Hurricanes offense sputters again in Game 4
Score one goal, have yet to convert on power play in series against Rangers
"It feels exactly like last year against Tampa, to be honest with you," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Very similar, where you're just going and you get a good chance and nope."
Last season, the Hurricanes were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Stanley Cup Second Round. They scored six goals in the four losses, including one in Games 1 and 2 and zero in Game 5 despite outshooting the Lightning in each of those games.
Fast-forward to present day and Carolina has now lost two straight to the New York Rangers in the second round, scoring one goal in each, including 4-1 in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Carolina outshot New York 75-61 in the two games.
The Hurricanes have scored three goals on 96 shots against Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin in the past three games, and five on 122 in the series. They scored nine goals on 151 shots against Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy last year, including two on 99 in Games 1, 2 and 5.
"These good teams at this time of the year, that's what they have," Brind'Amour said. "And then the power play. Eerily similar. So we've just got to find a way to fight through it, not take the unnecessary penalties."
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
The power play is a big problem for the Hurricanes, who were 0-for-2 in Game 4 and are 0-for-9 in the series.
"We've got to score on the power play," forward Sebastian Aho said.
Carolina practiced it on Monday and made a change by putting Nino Niederreiter on the top unit. The idea was to have Niederreiter use his frame (6-foot-2, 218 pounds) to screen Shesterkin, but the Hurricanes did not get enough shots through traffic for that to matter.
On their first power-play opportunity in the second period, the Rangers cleared the puck five times and did not allow a shot on goal. Martin Necas did hit the post with 21 seconds left on the man-advantage, but that was the best chance the Hurricanes had to cut into New York's 2-0 lead.
They were better on their second opportunity early in the third period, but Shesterkin stopped all three shots on goal, and New York cleared the puck three times to keep the score 3-0.
"We've hit some posts over the stretch here, but we've got to get them in the net," Brind'Amour said. "It's got to be better."
Especially when the Rangers are converting on some of their chances.
Mika Zibanejad made it 1-0 with a power-play goal in the first period of Game 3, a 3-1 win for New York, and Frank Vatrano scored on the man-advantage to make it 1-0 in the first period of Game 4.
What's worse is that Vatrano's goal almost felt like a double whammy for the Hurricanes because an instigator penalty on Steven Lorentz resulted in the Rangers power play.
The penalty came after New York defenseman Jacob Trouba laid a hard hit on Carolina forward Max Domi in front of the penalty boxes at 11:35. Lorentz then skated across the ice to engage Trouba and got two minutes for instigating, five for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.
"I don't think he was going in there to fight, he's never fought anybody before," Brind'Amour said. "Just sticking up for his teammates, which you like, but just can't take a penalty there."
Jordan Staal said the Hurricanes have to do a better job of keeping their emotions in check so they can get to their game.
"We started to do that in the second and third," said Staal, Carolina's captain. "But you give teams like that a goal like that and a couple goals to start is never a recipe for success."
Adam Fox scored on a deflection 2:11 after Vatrano's goal to put the Rangers ahead 2-0, and with the way Shesterkin has been playing, the game almost felt out of reach at that point for the Hurricanes.
"We kind of did it to ourselves a little bit in the first," Brind'Amour said. "We got kind of playing again, but by then it's too late. Give them two, it's tough to come back."
It was impossible last year against Lightning, and the Hurricanes are trying to remain upbeat that the same thing won't end their season this year.
Luckily, Game 5 of the best-of-7 series will be in Carolina on Thursday, where the Hurricanes are 6-0 this postseason, including a 2-1 overtime win in Game 1 and a 2-0 win in Game 2 against the Rangers.
"I'm confident that eventually they're going to find a way into the back of the net," Aho said. "Maybe as a forward group we can do a little better to be in his eyes. There are still loose pucks out there for second and third [chances] and dirty goals. You get one of those you get confidence, and all of a sudden you get all kinds of goals. I'm confident that this group can score enough goals to win hockey games."
If they don't, it really will be deja vu for the Hurricanes.
