Hurricanes 'turn the page' on Game 6 loss

NEW YORK -- It was less than four minutes into the second period of Game 6 on Saturday, and already the Carolina Hurricanes needed to make a goaltending change. Antti Raanta had just allowed his third goal of the game, which would prove to be the game-winner for the New York Rangers in a
5-2 victory
, and Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour had decided he'd seen enough.

It was a bad night for Raanta, but it was also a bad night for the Hurricanes, who squandered a chance to eliminate the Rangers and will now face a decisive Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Second Round at PNC Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
A bad night, yes. But not unexpected.
This is what the Hurricanes have done throughout the postseason, going 7-0 at PNC Arena and 0-6 on the road. The numbers are stark, weird, ones that reflect a tale of two teams.
"It's obviously right now a little frustrating that we couldn't close it out," defenseman Brady Skjei said. "We'll forget about this pretty quickly, and we have a lot of confidence at home, like the record shows. We're excited and we'll be ready to go on Monday."
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
But is there a danger in that confidence?
"We did this last series (against the Boston Bruins)," Skjei said. "We come into every game with confidence. Being at home, obviously, has been way better for us, but if we play our game, we play sound defensively and limit their chances, stay out of the penalty box, I like our chances."
Especially with Raanta in net.
With Frederik Andersen still not ready because of a lower-body injury, and with Raanta's recent performances at home, Brind'Amour didn't have to think long when asked about his starter for Game 7.
"[Raanta] will be starting," he said.
It makes sense.
At PNC Arena this postseason, Raanta has a 0.97 goals-against average, .965 save percentage and one shutout. In Game 7 of the first round against the Bruins, he made 27 saves in a 3-2 win.
"I'm not worried about 'Raants,'" captain Jordan Staal said. "He'll be ready to go."

No one denied, though, that Raanta struggled in Game 6.
He allowed three goals on 13 shots in 23:24 before being replaced by rookie Pyotr Kochetkov, who allowed two goals on 12 shots. Two of the three were ones Raanta would probably like to have back, especially Mika Zibanejad's power-play goal at 9:51 of the first period, which went five-hole to push the lead to 2-0. Tyler Motte's opening goal at 7:22 wasn't much better, sneaking under Raanta's left arm from the high slot.
"I'm sure he'd like to have those back," Brind'Amour said. "This time of year, it's tough. I guess he'd say he should make those saves, maybe, but it's behind us now. Turn the page. The good news is, we don't have to end on that. We got another shot here."
And that's the ultimate takeaway.
The Hurricanes were not good in Game 6. They did not close out the series. They fell behind 2-0 less than 10 minutes into the first period and were not able to recover. They took too many penalties, including a rare stick infraction on Jaccob Slavin that resulted in a double-minor for high-sticking, and couldn't convert on the power play (0-for-3).
However, like Skjei said, they've been in this situation before, and they know they can win at home.
Now, they just have to go out and do it. Again.
"We're going to try to scrap this game, move on past," Skjei said. "We did, honestly, the same exact thing in the first round with the wins and losses at home and on the road."
This, though, is a new team and a new opponent, a more difficult challenge, and, as they certainly know, anything can happen in a Game 7.
"Game 7s are Game 7s," Staal said. "Obviously, it's a big match and we are comfortable [at home], but we're going to need everyone. It's not easy. From the goalie all the way out, everyone's going to have to show up and be ready to battle and obviously be sharp in our details and our puck battles and all that stuff.
"We're going to need everyone to win that Game 7 for sure."