Russian forward “Carolina” Andrey Svechnikov behaves incredibly modestly in the playoffs: in the last five games he has not scored a single point. But in the fifth meeting of the second round with the Rangers, he finally reminded that his job was to score beautiful goals.

The teams approached the next match in Raleigh with a score of 2-2 in the series. Winning the fifth meeting was incredibly important in terms of strategy, because then the opponent would not have the right to make a mistake. The owners had an obvious advantage over going out on the ice, but only psychological. The Rangers, who are nominally the underdogs of the pair, put up a tough fight in both previous matches in Raleigh but failed to win either. The players promised to give the “hurricanes” a fight in the fifth match, but the hosts also took this match to their credit.

Although the Rangers proved that they cannot be discounted, they started the next meeting in Raleigh very carefully, not indulging the fans with bright exits to other people’s gates. And in the 13th minute, they completely misfired, playing in the majority, and missed a bright two-on-one attack, which led to a goal against Igor Shesterkin.

It took the Rangers 4 minutes to restore parity. This time, the majority brigade, in which Mika Zibanejad and Artemy Panarin reigned, did not disappoint. For the Russian, this assistant point was the first and only one for the meeting, and did not save him from another wave of criticism. Rangers fans are dissatisfied with the dangerous losses of the puck that the forward allows for the second game in a row, and his level of productivity:

“Panarin was just awful again,” wrote AlvarezFanAcc on Twitter.

– When will we pay attention to the sucky game of Panarin and Fox? Dylan Vincent asked.

– When will Panarin start playing? He plays without any creativity in attack,” wrote MoistBread_10. “And he ruins everything he touches.”

Artemy Panarin / Photo: © REUTERS / Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers simply did not have the resources to come up with something in the attack: Carolina spent all the time on someone else’s half of the site, throwing the opponent twice by the end of the second period and scoring one more goal. For the fact that the score did not increase by the second break, the team from New York should thank the post – it saved Shesterkin three times.

In the third period, Carolina added more pressure in the attack, finally turning off the opponent from the game, and Svechnikov finally shone on the ice. The forward, who has matured and gained experience in four years at the Carolinas, was supposed to lead the team to the playoffs, but instead, he remained silent for five games in a row. But his breakthrough goal was worth the long wait.

He intercepted an unsuccessful back pass on the blue line, literally knocking the puck out from under the stick of the Rangers player Adam Fox, broke away from the unfortunate defender in three steps and, having processed it in two touches, launched between Shesterkina’s legs into the goal. Real beauty! Fans of the Hurricanes added heat to the fire, chanting “Igor! Igor!” mocking the New York fans who are usually so supportive of their goaltender.

On this day, the Rangers really had nothing to hope for in Raleigh, but the matches in New York are played in a completely different scenario: before the sixth meeting at Madison Square Garden, the hosts, who have nothing to lose, will already have a psychological advantage.

NHL. Playoffs

Carolina Hurricanes (Raleigh) – New York Rangers (New York) – 3:1 (1:1, 1:0, 1:0)

Goals: Trochek, 12:57 (men.). Tereväinen, 29:47 (bol.). Svechnikov, 53:01. — Zibanejad, 17:06 (bol.).

Score in the series – 3:2