Hurricanes Stifle Rangers in Dominant Game 5 Win

The Carolina Hurricanes turned a 2-2 series into an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, as they have the New York Rangers on the brink of elimination.

Home teams were 4-0 entering Game 5 of this Eastern Conference Semifinal series, and they remained perfect. The Canes, who have yet to lose at home in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, picked up a 3-1 victory and are now one win away from moving on.

With one more win, the Hurricanes will face the already-victorious Tampa Bay Lightning with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line.

Of course, the Rangers cannot be counted out of this series, though the Canes did well to contain New York in Game 5. No team was better defensively this season than Carolina, and that came through on Thursday, as the Rangers were held to only 17 shots on goal.

The Hurricanes gave the Rangers nothing to work with in Game 5.

Those 17 shots matched a season-low for New York, and thanks to Carolina’s stifling defense, the Blueshirts mustered only one goal. Antti Raanta was great yet again for the Canes in the win. He has surrendered only eight goals so far in this series.

Carolina did not only defend well, but its offensive pressure also eliminated opportunities for the Rangers to generate momentum. The Canes doubled New York’s shot total, launching 34 shots at the opposing net.

One of the biggest shots of the game came from the stick of forward Andrei Svechnikov, who scored his team’s third goal and put the game out of reach. It was his first goal of the series, making it even more important.

This Game 5 performance was simply more of the same for the Hurricanes. New York has only outshot Carolina on one occasion in this series and has been largely unable to sustain offense.

The Hurricanes have the superior roster in this matchup, and that has shown through five games. If they can figure out how to win a game on the road in this playoff season, there might not be any stopping the Canes.

Game 6 between Carolina and New York will be Saturday at Madison Square Garden as the Hurricanes look to reach the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in four seasons.