In a game that they trailed by a goal thanks to the splendid work of Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers had a chance to start the third period with 1:39 remaining on a crucial power play.

After getting stopped on a backhand by Pyotr Kochetkov, Mika Zibanejad drew a penalty on Andrei Svechnikov for cross-checking with 21 seconds left in the second period. The Hurricanes killed off the remainder of the period to take a 2-1 lead to the locker room. They dominated the second by getting goals from William Carrier and Jack Roslovic.

Prior to getting outscored 2-0 and outshot 16-8 in a lopsided period, the Rangers had a strong start to the game. In fact, Jimmy Vesey scored just 17 seconds in to give them a 1-0 lead. Reinserted unto the lineup for Matt Rempe, who later received an eight-game suspension for his illegal hit from behind on Miro Heiskanen, Vesey drove to the net and tipped in a Chad Ruhwedel feed for his third goal of the season. Adam Edstrom picked up a secondary assist on the play.

The Blueshirts continued to attack the Hurricanes by getting in on the forecheck and testing Kochetkov. Braden Schneidet came close to putting them up two but hit the goalpost. After getting stopped by Kochetkov on one shot, rookie Brett Berard almost beat the Hurricanes netminder on a wrap-around.

Eventually, the Hurricanes settled down. Despite the quick start, the Rangers were held to five shots in the first period. Carolina registered six shots on Shesterkin, who would later give his team a chance when he faced more pressure as the game moved along.

A lack of discipline came back to bite the Rangers in the second period. With Berard in the box for delay of game, that put the Hurricanes on the power play. Although they didn’t score on it, they were able to tie the game just after it expired. On some sustained pressure behind the net, Jordan Staal and Jaccob Slavin combined to find Carrier open in the slot for a wrist shot that beat Shesterkin to tie the game at 9:14 of the second.

Over a minute later, Alexis Lafreniere took a high-sticking double minor when he cut Roslovic. Once again, the Hurricanes did their best work late on the man-advantage.  With Lafreniere set to return in two seconds, the Hurricanes used a good play in transition to make the Rangers pay. Kochetkov started it with a good outlet for Dmitry Orlov. He gained the zone and was able to hit a cutting Roslovic with a nice pass that the one-time Ranger tipped in to put the Hurricanes ahead 2-1. He beat Ruhwedel to the spot for his 14th goal.

The Hurricanes could’ve been up by more. After his go-ahead goal, Roslovic had a shot hit the crossbar. Both Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis later missed the net on good scoring chances.

Although he wasn’t called upon to make too many saves, Kochetkov came up large when he denied a pair of bids from Edstrom during a strong shift by the fourth line. Edstrom had a good game along with Vesey and Sam Carrick. They were the Rangers’ most effective line at five-on-five.

With under a minute to go in the period, Shesterkin got across to rob Aho of a sure goal. He was left all alone in front for a centering feed. But the athletic Shesterkin made his best save of the game to keep the Rangers only down one.

On a takeaway in the Hurricanes’ zone, Zibanejad drove to the net and got off a good backhand that Kochetkov kicked out. He then stopped Reilly Smith before Svechnikov cross-checked Zibanejad with 21 seconds left to put the Rangers on the power play.

At the start of the third period, the Rangers were unable to get anything going against one of the league’s best penalty killing units. The Hurricanes were aggressive by attacking up top to force turnovers for easy clears down the ice. The Rangers’ top unit continued to try to force the issue by carrying the puck in. They played right into their opponent’s hands. On the MSG Network telecast, Rangers analyst Joe Micheletti called them stubborn for failing to adjust their strategy.

When play resumed at even strength, Kochetkov made a big save when he denied a Vesey bid to keep his team in front. He’d later make another key stop on a Vincent Trocheck deflection. Trocheck drew a slashing minor on Brent Burns to put the Rangets back on the power play.

Unlike the previous one, Peter Laviolette decided to start his second unit. Filip Chytil was on with Lafreniere, Will Cuylle, Smith, and Adam Fox, who ran the power play. Off a faceoff win, the Rangers nearly drew even when Smith was set up in the opposite dot for a one-timer. But Kochetkov recovered quickly to make the big save. Unlike the top unit, the Rangers’ second unit had better cohesion. They weren’t as spaced out and got more setup time. However, they only registered one shot, with Chytil having one attempt miss the net.

With the teams back at full strength, a bad pass from Artemi Panarin was intercepted by Martin Necas inside his zone. The giveaway led to a 2-on-0 with Necas coming in alone and getting stopped by Shesterkin. While Trocheck hustled back, Panarin stopped skating. It was a lazy play by the Rangers’ leading scorer. With the team desperate for wins, that lackluster effort was abominable. He made a bad decision that led to a turnover and didn’t hustle back. It’s unacceptable for the team’s best player to watch instead of continuing to give an effort. The Rangers need Panarin to lead by example. It isn’t only about offense, either. There’s been several instances when he hasn’t put forth his best effort defensively. That reflects poorly on the alternate captain.

On that same play, Trocheck was called for hooking Eric Robinson from behind to send the Hurricanes on the power play. Shesterkin made a critical stop by shutting down Shayne Gostisbehere on a tough slap shot. The Rangers successfully killed off the penalty to hang around.

Berard came the closest to tying it. He had two scoring chances on one shift. Kochetkov delivered a pair of big saves to preserve the Hurricanes’ one-goal lead.

With Shesterkin on the bench for a six-on-five, the Rangers were unable to get any shots through. Instead, the Hurricanes iced the game when Aho took a Svechnikov lead pass and scored into an open net with 1:42 left. On the play, Kochetkov picked up his second assist of the game. He finished with 22 saves and two assists to pick up the win.

For the Rangers, it’s a quick turnaround with the Devils this afternoon at The Prudential Center. It’s the last game before Christmas. At 16-16-1, they remained six points out of the final wildcard due to the Senators losing 3-1 to the Oilers last night. They’ll face one of the league’s beat teams on Monday. In their only meeting, the Devils won 5-1 on Dec. 2. Following that loss, Jacob Trouba agreed to be traded to the Ducks for Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth round pick on Dec. 6. He’s been okay since joining the blue line. I’ve been more impressed with his defense than recent pickup Will Borgen. Both should be in the lineup for today’s holiday game at 1 PM.