3 Keys: Rangers at Hurricanes, Game 5 of Eastern Second Round
Shesterkin difference-maker for New York; Carolina attempts to stay perfect at home
The Carolina Hurricanes will try to stay perfect at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and move within one win of the Eastern Conference Final when they play Game 5 of the second round against the New York Rangers at PNC Arena on Thursday.
The Hurricanes are 6-0 at home in the playoffs, the longest home winning streak in a single postseason in Carolina/Hartford Whalers history. They lead the NHL in home wins and home goal differential (plus-15).
Carolina won Games 1 and 2 against the Rangers 2-1 and 2-0.
"I thought we did a good job both games neutralizing the crowd and we just weren't able to find ways to win here," Rangers forward Kevin Rooney said. "I don't think it matters the home] record. We're looking forward to having a good start, being good early."
***[RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
The Rangers responded by winning each of their home games at Madison Square Garden by a combined score of 7-2, including 4-1 in Game 4 on Tuesday.
"I think as a group we didn't play very well in Game 4," Hurricanes center Jordan Staal said. "Give them credit they made a push, and they were desperate, and we weren't. We looked sloppy. We're hoping to sharpen the knife again and be aware of where we're at and what we're trying to accomplish here."
The team that wins Game 5 when a best-of-7 series is tied 2-2 is 223-60 (.788) winning the series, including 4-2 in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. When the home team wins it's 141-34; the road team is 82-26.
Here are 3 keys to Game 5:
1. Hurricanes need to power up
The Hurricanes are 0-for-9 on the power play in the series and 1-for-18 going back to Game 6 of the first round against the Boston Bruins. Worse yet, it's not helping them generate any momentum going into 5-on-5 play. In fact, the Rangers are getting that from their penalty kill.
Carolina made some personnel changes before Game 4, including moving Nino Niederreiter to the top unit to be a net-front presence and Teuvo Teravainen to the second unit, but nothing has worked yet.
"We obviously have got to score," coach Rod Brind'Amour said.
Another problem for the Hurricanes is the Rangers have scored on their power play in each of the past two games and generated momentum from other man-advantage opportunities. They either need the power play to connect in Game 5 or at the very least keep the Rangers' power play from scoring.
"If one is not going you hope the other one is," Brind'Amour said.
2. Igor, again
Igor Shesterkin was the Rangers' best player in Game 3 and arguably their best in Game 4. When the goalie is their best player, the Rangers typically find a way to win.
Shesterkin made 43 saves in Game 3, a 3-1 victory. He made 30 saves in Game 4 to win 4-1. He is 5-2 with a 1.98 goals-against average and .939 save percentage since getting pulled in Games 3 and 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. His two losses were Games 1 and 2 here, when he allowed three goals on 47 shots.
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said he thinks Shesterkin getting pulled in consecutive games forced him to reset mentally and have some hard conversations with goaltending coach Benoit Allaire, and it's made a difference in how he's played since.
"First time through the playoffs and a young goalie and the way that crowd in Pittsburgh
-- Filip Chytil -- Tyler Motte
Kaapo Kakko -- Kevin Rooney -- Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Justin Braun -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched:Patrik Nemeth, Libor Hajek, Greg McKegg, Julien Gauthier, Jonny Brodzinski, Dryden Hunt
Injured:Barclay Goodrow (lower body), Sammy Blais (knee)
Hurricanes projected lineup
Teuvo Teravainen -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Nino Niederreiter -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Max Domi
Jaccob Slavin -- Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith -- Ian Cole
Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched:Ethan Bear, Derek Stepan, Steven Lorentz
Injured:Frederik Andersen (lower body)
Status report*
The Rangers held an optional skate with Schneider, Braun and Rooney participating. ... Martinook will likely return to the lineup for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Boston Bruins. Lorentz is likely to come out.
