In Raleigh, the New York Rangers were shut out by the Hurricanes on Friday night, 2-0.
Antti Raanta made 21 saves in the win for the Hurricanes.
“I didn’t feel like I needed to do that many huge saves,” said Raanta, who made his eighth NHL playoff start, all this season. “Our guys were making sure there were no back-door plays or easy shots. The PK was huge for us, and that last three minutes was huge also, so the guys helped me a lot for sure.”
Carolina’s Brendan Smith hit for a shorthanded goal in the second period.
“[Teravainen] makes great plays and he can chip it into space, where I saw [Aho] moving,” Smith said. “I tried to get going as fast as I could and find the lane. [Aho] is an elite passer, and he put it right on the money, so I can’t take too much [credit], but it was a good read by a lot of players.”
The Canes lead the series, 2-0.
“We have a good defense. We have a really solid group back there,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You’re going to have to earn your chances against us for the most part. Both teams, we’re not getting much going the other way either. Both teams are fighting for every inch out there. It’s playoff hockey, and both teams are laying it on the line.”
Game 3 is in New York on Sunday.
“You get your team prepared to play, you play as hard as you can and you hope you win these hockey games,” New York coach Gerard Gallant said. “I’m happy with the way we performed overall. I wish we would have got one of these two games, we probably could have. That’s the way it goes. Play well, play hard, we’ll find a way to get another win.”
Sebastian Aho scored an empty net goal with two seconds left on the clock in the third period.
“I’m seeing a great penalty kill put a lot of pressure on them,” Gallant said. “We didn’t find the inside man very often in the slot, the bumper guy. They put on a lot of pressure, and we just didn’t adjust to it quick enough. We’ve got to compete a little harder, I think.”
Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves in the New York loss.
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