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RALEIGH, N.C. — There are statement wins, and then there’s what goalie Alexandar Georgiev and the Rangers did to the Hurricanes on Sunday.
Behind 44 saves and an all-around outstanding performance from Georgiev, the Rangers overcame a brutal turnaround in the second game of a back-to-back with a 2-0 win over the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes on Sunday night at PNC Arena.
The loss was the Hurricanes’ fourth in a row, while the Rangers picked up another encouraging victory over a Stanley Cup contender.
Less than 24 hours removed from their 8 p.m. matchup against the Lightning in Tampa on Saturday, an emotional 2-1 win, the Rangers understandably looked a little gassed facing another high-powered squad. Georgiev, however, withstood tremendous pressure and kept the Rangers competitive with his best performance of the season and possibly of his career.
Georgiev ultimately picked up his ninth win of the season, which improved the Rangers to 40-18-5.
The Rangers have now competed in three straight playoff-style games, getting a much-needed taste of what the pace and atmosphere could be like in just over a month. For a team that has very few players with postseason experience, the Rangers have more than held their own in these low-scoring contests.
In fact, the Blueshirts are continuing to build on parts of their game and grow as a team in the process.
The game took a turn in the second period when referee Chris Rooney botched the call on a play that should’ve been a Rangers goal.
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Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen thought he was sitting on the puck, but it was clearly loose to the side of the net and right in front of Rooney. Filip Chytil continued to battle for the puck and put it in on a wraparound, but Rooney had whistled the play dead. It was a bizarre sequence that could have deflated the Rangers, but it did the opposite.
What felt like seconds later, Chris Kreider deflected a shot from Jacob Trouba past Andersen to give his team a 1-0 lead at 15:39 of the second period on the Rangers’ eighth shot of the game. The goal was Kreider’s third in the last four games and 41st of the season.
Recently acquired forward Frank Vatrano scored an empty-net goal to secure the victory.
Carolina finished with a 43-16 advantage in shots, but Georgiev stood on his head through it all — including three Carolina power plays. The Rangers were hemmed in their zone for much of the final frame, only mustering six shots as the Hurricanes frantically put the puck on net.
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