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(New York, NY) — After a crushing loss against the Hurricanes at MSG earlier this week, the Blue Shirts bounced back at PNC Arena on Thursday, defeating the first place Hurricanes 2-1.
It was a frightful start for the Rangers as the Hurricanes outshot them 13-3 in the first period and grabbed an early lead. However, the team scored goals in each of the finals two frames to pick up the win.
The victory shrunk the gap between the Rangers and Devils to four points for second in the Metropolitan division. The Hurricanes are now just six points ahead of the Rangers in the top spot.
“They’re in first place in our division for a reason,” said Adam Fox, who scored with just over four minutes into the third period. “They play hard, they play a structured game, but we got our chances and capitalized on it.”
Fox’s game-winner ended a 24-game stretch without a goal. Artemi Panarin led the offense with a goal and an assist
“We’re a good team and we have a lot of good hockey players,” Gerard Gallant said. “You find a way to stick around a win a hockey game. Shesterkin made some key saves for us and gave us a chance to win.”
The Rangers now have 94 points and have a magic number of 7 to clinch a playoff spot.
They’ll continue their trip down the Atlantic coast when they take on the Panthers in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.
