|
 Especially center J.T. Miller, who provided key offense in a 4-1
victory against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Our system is to have an aggressive forecheck and we did a good
job, especially in the first 40 minutes," Miller said.
The Rangers were quick to grab momentum in front of a sparse crowd
on a wintry night. That meant it seemed like a pro-Rangers turnout
at PNC Arena.
"We came out really focused," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said.
"We set the tone in the first with a lot of good chances."
Miller scored twice in a span of slightly more than two minutes
midway through the second period. Miller, who has 12 goals this
season, typically excels in road games because he has a team-leading
nine goals away from home.
"A young player going through a process and figuring out his game
and what he can bring to the team to contribute," Rangers coach
Alain Vigneault said of Miller.
Defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Keith Yandle also scored for the
Rangers (26-16-5), who have won three of their last four games but
this marked their first two-game winning streak since Nov. 21 and
23.
Left winger Joakim Nordstrom scored for Carolina (21-20-8).
Lundqvist made 30 saves for the Rangers. He notched his third
victory in three outings against the Hurricanes this season.
Lundqvist allowed two goals or fewer in five straight appearances.
Carolina goalie Eddie Lack, making three consecutive starts for only
the second time this season, stopped 28 shots.
New York put up 32 shots, matching the third most faced by Lack this
season. The Rangers didn't have a shot on goal in the final eight
minutes.
"For the most part, I liked the way we went after them early on,"
Vigneault said. "I thought we advanced the puck really well."
The Rangers won the last nine matchups with Carolina. It's the first
time in franchise history that the Rangers have 19 wins in a 20-game
span against the same opponent.
"It's frustrating and we know what our record is against them
(recently) and we want to rectify that," Hurricanes center Eric
Staal said. "We made mistakes and they made us pay. Just making
mistakes that we can't make. It's a tough hill to climb."
The Rangers had goals by multiple defensemen in the same game for
only the third time this season.
If there was a downside for the Rangers, it came with right winger
Mats Zuccarello's 11-game points streak vs. Carolina coming to an
end.
The Rangers controlled play from the start, helping them build a 4-1
lead through two periods.
[to top of second column] |
"They capitalized on our mistakes and decision-making," Carolina
coach Bill Peters said. "We didn't make many plays for 60 minutes.
They established their game early and played with the lead all
night."
McDonagh converted for a goal shortly after the Rangers came up
empty on a first-period power play. His unassisted tally came on a
sharp shot from the left side.
It was McDonagh's sixth goal of the season, but his first in 14
games.
The Rangers kept the pressure on and were rewarded again in the
opening period. Yandle darted in from the blue line to take a pass
from center Oscar Lindberg, who delivered from behind the net.
Yandle has three goals this season, with two coming this month.
New York held a 17-9 edge in shots after the first period.
Nordstrom scored 3:29 into the second period for his first goal in
14 games to put Carolina on the board a night after the Hurricanes
failed to score in regulation at Toronto. It was the Hurricanes'
first regulation goal in three games because they were shut out
Sunday at Pittsburgh.
But Miller scored twice in a two-minute, 10-second span midway
through the second period.
Miller's first goal came after he found room among several
Hurricanes to launch a shot through some sticks. The second Miller
goal came off Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin's turnover for an
unassisted goal.
NOTES: The Rangers had LW Daniel Paille, a veteran signed as a free
agent on Thursday, in the lineup for the first time. ... Rangers LW
Chris Kreider sat out with a neck injury. ... The Rangers sent C
Jayson Megna to Hartford of the American Hockey League after he
played five games (scoring one goal) since a Jan. 4 recall. ... The
Hurricanes planned to use the same lineup as a night earlier in an
overtime win at Toronto, but C Riley Nash was a late scratch because
of illness. C Brad Malone joined the lineup. ... Carolina had G
Daniel Altshuller as the backup after G Cam Ward missed his second
game since he was diagnosed with a concussion. ... The Rangers play
Sunday at Ottawa. ... This was the first of three consecutive home
games for Carolina, which faces the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
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