After special teams play keyed Rangers' series
The Rangers and Hurricanes were among the top special teams units during the regular season. Carolina was second on the power play and first on the penalty-kill, and New York was third in both.
After special teams play keyed the Rangers’ 4-3 win in the series opener, the Hurricanes know they will need to be better when the teams meet in Game 2 on Tuesday night (7 p.m. EDT, ESPN).
“We got to be a little bit better in all areas,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They got a great team over there. They had to make high-end plays on the goals. ... We have to find a way to be that much better.”
The Rangers scored on the game’s first shot on goal. After the Hurricanes tied it, New York then scored on its two power plays in the first period to take a two-goal lead.
The Rangers’ two power plays totaled just 23 seconds. They needed only 9 seconds to get the first one when Mika Zibanejad scored from the left side off a pass from Chris Kreider in front, and 14 seconds before Vincent Trocheck put in a rebound in close of a shot by Zibanejad.