Three takeaways as Rangers take commanding 3-0 series lead on Hurricanes
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin and center Vincent Trocheck celebrate their win in the overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The New York Rangers did it again on Thursday night, beating the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime, 3-2, for the second consecutive game. They now have a commanding 3-0 series lead and remain perfect in the playoffs with a 7-0 record through the first two rounds.
Artemi Panarin scored the game-winning goal just two minutes into overtime.
Let’s take a look at three reasons for their continued success.
1. Igor Shesterkin is the best player on the ice every night
Goaltending changes everything in the playoffs, and right now, there is nobody better in the NHL than the Rangers’ Shesterkin.
Thursday’s game was the 30th consecutive playoff game where he has allowed three goals or fewer, and he completely shut down the Hurricanes for a third straight game by stopping 45 out of 47 shots. That gives him a .934 save percentage in the postseason, raising his career postseason save percentage over .930 for his career.
Just for comparisons sake, the NHL average league save percentage the past two seasons has been around .905. He is not only the best goalie in the league right now; he is a complete game-changer.
2. The Rangers special teams remain dominant
The Rangers are not always the best or most efficient five-on-five team, and they have actually been outscored at even-strength in this series. But their special teams have been downright dominant and have completely flipped this series in their favor.
The Rangers have already scored four power-play goals in the first three games, while they also added a short-handed goal on Thursday night to tie the game in the second period.
Carolina, meanwhile, is 0-of-15 on the power play and has actually been outscored (1-0) with the man-advantage.
The Rangers power play has carried their offense for much of the season and into the playoffs, but the even more shocking number is that they are outscoring their opponents 3-2 in the playoffs when they are short-handed. That is not supposed to happen.
All three games in this series have been decided by one goal. Those special teams goals are quite literally the difference.
3. The Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck duo
Big-money free-agent signings rarely work out in the NHL the way they are planned, but the Rangers have hit two home runs over the years with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck
That line contributed to two more goals on Thursday, while at least one of them has been on the ice for 15 of the Rangers’ 26 goals so far in the playoffs.
As they go, the Rangers offense goes.
They have combined to score nine of those goals on their own, while Trocheck has been leading the team in ice-time on most nights, something that is typically unheard of for a forward in the playoffs.
Want more articles like this? Follow Yardbarker on MSN to see more of our exclusive NHL content.
More must-reads:
Trending slideshow: Who scored the most goals for every NHL franchise? (Provided by Yardbarker)