RALEIGH, N.C. – The Rangers were the more tired team. The very well rested Hurricanes were the team with something to avenge.
But the Rangers, behind four goals by Artemi Panarin, were the winning team as they beat Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina, 6-2, at PNC Arena on Saturday night.
The Rangers have won five in a row and are 20-4-3 since Dec. 5.
Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves for his seventh straight win.
It was in this very arena that the Rangers ousted the Hurricanes from the playoffs last season in a 6-2 victory (there’s that final score again) in Game 7.
On Saturday, the Rangers were playing their third game in four nights. The Hurricanes were playing for the first time since Feb. 1. Carolina had won seven in a row before the All-Star break.
Panarin, who tied the game late in the second with his 200th career goal, gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 4:33 of the third when he scored off a rebound. He completed the hat trick and made it 4-2 with 4:01 left in the third. It was the first four-goal game for Panarin, who also had an assist.
Kaapo Kakko scored into the empty net with 2:14 left in the third. Panarin scored again with 1:04 left as chants of “Let’s Go Rangers” broke out from the many Blueshirts rooters in attendance.
The Hurricanes came out flying, peppering Halak with 10 of the game’s first 14 shots before a game was scored. Halak, who got the start after Igor Shesterkin beat Seattle on Friday night, was up to the task, and the Rangers got on the board first.
Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield was off for interference when a relentlessly jabbing Mika Zibanejad poked in his own rebound at 13:37. It was Zibanejad’s 27th goal of the season and 16th on the power play (tied with Connor McDavid for second in the league).
About 30 seconds earlier, during even-strength play, Adam Fox had hit the crossbar and then the post on the same shot. The Rangers were flying, too, and getting good looks at Frederik Andersen, who stopped a Julien Gauthier blast with his mask later in the period.
The Rangers went 2 for 2 on the power play on Friday. The addition of Vladimir Tarasenko, who debuted on the Rangers’ first line on Friday with longtime friend Panarin and Zibanejad, prompted coach Gerard Gallant to make some changes to his two power-play units, something he had avoided doing for the season’s first 51 games. He put Tarasenko on the second unit and moved the red-hot Filip Chytil up to the first unit. Vincent Trocheck dropped to the second group.
The Rangers’ power play, which had been such a devastating weapon last season and early this season, was 17th in the league entering Saturday, and had scored just three goals in the last 30 opportunities over 11 games before Friday.
“Before we even did the trade, we were talking about different things,’’ Gallant said. “What you're looking at right now … there's two pretty good units out there.”
It worked out Friday, as each of the units scored. Jacob Trouba, who rotated in with Tarasenko, scored for the second unit 1:03 into the second period, and Zibanejad scored for the first unit at 3:19 of the third period.
Trocheck, the former Hurricane, was saluted by the home crowd during Saturday’s first break. Trocheck, who had two assists, spent three seasons with Carolina before signing with the Rangers and this was his first time back in Raleigh.
“My time in Carolina was great,” he said. “My family and I have a special place on our hearts for the city of Raleigh. Our daughter was born there and we made a lot of lifelong friends with the team.”
The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead in the second with goals by Teuvo Teravainen (6:50, off the skate of D’Andre Miller) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (9:43, putting in his own rebound after a Halak save).
Panarin tied it at 17:49 with his 200th by beating Anderson gloveside after a turnover and a feed by Trocheck. The Rangers had been outshot 25-13, but were even at 2 after two.
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— With Colin Stephenson
