Rangers surrender lead late in third, drop Game 1 to Hurricanes in overtime

RALEIGH, N.C. – It usually takes a complete game effort to win a playoff game.

Strong for the first 40 minutes, the Rangers were inexplicably more passive in the third period. That ultimately cost them a 2-1 overtime loss to the Hurricanes in Game 1 of their second-round series on Wednesday night at PNC Arena.

Defenseman Ian Cole scored the winner through traffic off defenseman Ryan Lindgren’s stick at 3:12 of the extra period.

The Hurricanes finally broke through late and tied it 1-1 with 2:23 left in the third period when Sebastien Aho took a pass from Seth Jarvis and scored off his own rebound in front.

Game 2 is Friday night before the series shifts to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.

Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves after stopping the sparse, 14 shots he faced in the first two periods with the Rangers holding a 1-0 lead. Antti Raanta made 27 saves for the Hurricanes.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Game 1 for the Rangers is the need to do more with any lead they get after often playing from behind in their seven-game, first-round series win over the Penguins. The Hurricanes play a faster, more dangerous game.

“They play an aggressive style,” defenseman Adam Fox said. “I don’t think it’s a team you’re going to be wanting to digging yourselves a hole against with the way they play. They swarm you and try to keep you from getting much in their zone. It’s a little different style but, at the same time, you’re playing good times at this time of the year so you’re going to have to bring your best.”

The Hurricanes finally started showing that to start the third period, taking seven shots in the opening 4:50. Shesterkin preserved the Rangers’ 1-0 lead by squeezing his pads to rob Teuvo Teravainen from in tight at 2:05.

The Hurricanes’ Nino Niederreiter then hit the crossbar on a breakaway at 12:37.

The Rangers entered the series a perceived underdog despite finishing with 110 points, just six behind the Metropolitan Division-champion Hurricanes.

That’s likely to be a rallying point for the Rangers after they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Penguins with a come-from-behind, 4-3, overtime win in Sunday’s Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers also overcame two-goal deficits in both Game 5 and 6 and lost that Game 1, 4-3, in triple overtime.

“I don’t pay no attention to that,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “I’m sure the players look at it and say ‘well we’re the underdogs again. I think it’s good. I think it’s good for the group. We’ll battle hard. We’ll compete hard and, hopefully, try to find ways to win.”

Only Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad remain from the Rangers’ last true playoff squad in 2017. Being swept in a best-of-five qualifying series by the Hurricanes in the 2020 playoff bubble in Toronto doesn’t really count.

That’s why surviving the first round against the Penguins was also important for the young squad.

“The experience is great,” Gallant said. “The first seven playoff games were excellent for them. All season long was a great experience for them and they’ll just keep getting better.”

The Rangers showed that Wednesday with a consistency throughout their game often waned against the Penguins.

After the Rangers chased the puck through a couple of sluggish opening minutes to the game, they quickly established control through the first period. Filip Chytil made it 1-0 at 7:07 from just inside the right circle. Kid Line-mate Alexis Lafreniere created the play, intercepting ex-Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo’s neutral-zone pass and starting transition rush before finding Chytil open.

Raanta, though, kept the Hurricanes’ deficit at one goal despite consistent Rangers’ pressure the rest of the first period. He stretched to get his left toe on Chytil’s chance at the right post off Kid Line-mate Kaapo Kakko’s feed from the slot at 14:44, also denying Chytil’s rebound try.

And at 18:59, Raanta made back-to-back, in-tight saves on Ryan Reaves after Tyle Motte freed him to the crease. But the Hurricanes trailed after the first period for the first time in these playoffs.

The Kid Line kept pressuring in the second period and Lafreniere hit the crossbar at 14:22.

And it was Kakko who finally got the Rangers’ first shot in the third period as Raanta stoned him near the crease at 11:19.

On his next shift, however, Kakko missed that wide-open look which came back to haunt the Rangers.