Four third period goals propel Hurricanes past Rangers in Game 5

For the second straight game, it was do or die for the Carolina Hurricanes. After allowing their second short-handed goal of the series in the second period, it felt like the team would be packing up their bags and dusting off their golf clubs. However, a dominant four-goal third period secured the team's 4-1 road win over the New York Rangers in Game 5.

Just over three minutes into the third period, captain and center Jordan Staal received the puck at the blue line and skated past defenseman Braden Schneider, then went forehand-backhand to tuck the puck past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

“The whole game he was leading us, and when you got a guy that does it the same way every night, just plays the same style, in your face, hard — everyone wants to jump on,” said left wing Jordan Martinook. “That's what your captain does”. 

When the puck hit the ice for Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, the pace was fast and the game had a good flow. Both teams had several scoring chances, but neither was able to convert. Center Jake Guentzel had the best chance of the first 20 minutes when he had a breakaway but Shesterkin shut it down.

The Hurricanes came out in the second period and showed their desperation as they were all over New York early. Just after the team killed off a Rangers power play in the period, center Jack Drury blocked two straight shots and defenseman Dmitry Orlov drew a tripping penalty.

Carolina headed to its first power play of the game with all the momentum, but yet again, the man advantage opportunity was a failure and allowed a goal to defenseman Jacob Trouba, who slung a shot past goaltender Frederik Andersen on the 2-on-1. The quiet Madison Square Garden suddenly erupted, and like previous games, the Hurricanes had a rough second period.

Forty minutes had passed, and just 20 minutes remained. The team needed at least one goal in the remaining period, or their season would be over, and they managed to get four.

“I just felt like it was business as usual,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “We got to win a period. Didn’t really matter how we were gonna get it done. That’s kind of the sense I got when I went in to talk to the guys. There’s no panic, they understand the situation, you’re one shot away and that was the way they approached it.”

The team opened the final period with 1:51 of power play time, but yet again, the man advantage failed and the Rangers managed to kill off another penalty.

Staal got the scoring started for Carolina. Orlov sent a cross-ice pass to Staal, who made no mistake with the puck and deceived Shesterkin with his deke. 

“There’s been a lot of guys telling me I was gonna score,” said Staal. “I told them after the game, better late than never.”

Center Evgeny Kuznetsov made a 200-foot play by starting in his own zone and skating all the way to the front of the Rangers' net, beating left-wing Artemi Panarin to the loose puck and giving Carolina its first lead of the night. 

The Hurricanes had silenced the Rangers and Madison Square Garden with their dominant five-on-five play but weren’t finished. The forecheck of center Jack Drury led to a turnover that found the stick of center Martin Necas who found a lone Martinook in the slot. Martinook sent the puck over Shesterkin’s blocker and into the net for the team's third goal.

The game was capped off as Necas sent the puck the length of the ice and into an empty Rangers net.

With three goals in just over six minutes, Carolina ensured there would be at least one more game played in PNC Arena this postseason. 

Brind'Amour turned back to Andersen in yet another elimination game. He proved that the head coach made the correct decision, stopping 20 out of 21 shots faced, and looking composed from the start. Andersen was calm and stood his ground, making challenging saves throughout the game.

“[Andersen had] a couple of big saves at crucial times, that's what goaltending you need to keep you in the game,” Brind’Amour said. “They go up by two, that’s gonna be tough. He kept us in there.” 

The Hurricanes have completely shifted the momentum of the series with two straight wins. The team has a chance to win on home ice and force a game seven to try and make their mark in history.

The series will return to PNC Arena for Game 6 on Thursday, May 16, with puck drop at 7 p.m.