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Alexandar Georgiev made a season-high 44 saves for his seventh career hut, Chris Krieder broke a scoreless tie late in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Sunday night.
It was the first shootout for Georgiev since beating Philadelphia 9-0 on March 17, 2021.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a game like this where there have not been many goals,” Georgiev said.
Georgiev, who has just played for the second time in New York’s last five games, has won his first straight victory since Jan. 8 in Anaheim.
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Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal (11) blocked his shot from New York Rangers goalkeeper Alexandar Georgiev (40) during the second period of an NHL hockey stick in Raleigh, NC, Sunday, March 20, 2022.
(AP Photo / Karl B DeBlaker)
He was tested on at least 14 shots in each period.
“They shoot a lot of pucks,” Georgiev said. “The first period was important to keep it at zero … It’s a team shutout, for sure.”
Frank Vatrano added an empty goal with 41.3 seconds to play to reach it for the Rangers.
Combined with a winning goal in the last minute Saturday night in Tampa Bay, it was a full 24-hour span for Rangers.
“I think we have shown that we have to do it to win,” said Vatrano.
The loss sent the Hurricanes to their first four-game losing streak of the season (0-3-1). It also marks the end of a 14-game home-ice-dot streak, a shyness of a franchise record.
Frederik Andersen stopped 16 shots for the hurricanes, which were stopped for the third time this season.
“We had too many good chances not to score,” said Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said his team has played well enough to win three of the last four games. That was especially the case on Sunday.
“That was probably one of our better games all year,” Brind’Amour said. “Their goalkeeper played great, and that’s the end of the story.”
The Rangers have won four of their last five games. This last success was a struggle.
“We were lucky,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “We were a tired hockey stick. They were all over us. They dominated, but we found a way to get two points.”
Kreider scored his team-high 41st goal at 16:39 of the second period on a diversion from Jacob Trouba’s delivery. He has scored in three of the last four games and has conceded seven goals in 10 games in March.
The Rangers had just 10 shots through two periods, while the Hurricanes put the puck on the net 29 times without scoring.
HAPPY TO YOU
Vatrano was in his third game with the Rangers since a deal with the Florida Panthers. The goal was his first point with the new team.
“They all count, right?” he said of the empty-net. “I take it … I’m glad I’m closing the deal for the boys.”
ROAD BIS SUCCESS
The Rangers have played in 34 road games, the most of any NHL team so far this season. They are 20-12-2.
This result gave them their first three-game road winning track since a track that stopped in mid-December.
JUST IN TIME
Carolina defender Tony DeAngelo was back in the lineup after an 11-game absence due to a thigh injury. He is in his first season with the Hurricanes after joining the Rangers. He had three points in a win against his former team in January.
WRITE DOWN
Carolina went with a lineup of seven defenders, in part due to a lack of forwards.
Hurricanes right wing Nino Niederreiter sat down Friday night to suspend a game to serve a blow to Washington’s Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.
Meanwhile, Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook missed his second game in a row and is expected to be out for at least a few weeks with a lower body injury.
OP Next
Rangers: Pa. New Jersey Tuesday.
Hurricanes: Host Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
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