New York, N.Y. — The New York Rangers were shutout 2-0 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first official game of the “retool.”
It marked the first game without star forward Artemi Panarin on the Rangers’ roster for the first time in six and a half seasons, as “The Breadman” was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday in exchange for top prospect Liam Greentree and two conditional draft picks.
The Rangers kept pace with Carolina early, looking as if they had something to prove. However, the Hurricanes struck first when Andrei Svechnikov scored with 13:34 remaining in the first period.
Roughly a minute after the goal, former Ranger K’Andre Miller headed to the box for cross-checking, giving New York a chance to get on the board. The Rangers failed to convert, and the game remained 1-0 Hurricanes. Miller was surprisingly saluted by the crowd in his first game back since being traded in the summer.
With 7:10 remaining in the first period, New York went back on the power play as Taylor Hall was sent to the sin bin for tripping. Mika Zibanejad came just inches from tying the game, gathering his own rebound off Carolina goaltender Brandon Bussi before ringing a shot off the crossbar.
The Rangers went 0-for-2 on the power play, and the period ended with Carolina leading 1-0.
Carolina controlled play early in the second period, pestering goaltender Jonathan Quick with scoring chances. While defensively solid, the Rangers lacked offensive urgency, recording zero shots though the first quarter of the period.
Momentum swung further into the Canes’ favor with 14:57 remaining in the second period when Vladislav Gavrikov was assesed a two minute minor for interfenece, giving the Hurricanes their first power play of the game. Carolina controlled the puck for most of the two minutes, but no damage was done and the Rangers were able skate even once again.
Gavrikov would take another penalty towards the end of the period with 1:41 remaining this time for holding. The Canes quickly rang one off the pipe but, they call it “a goalies best friend” for a reason and the game stayed 1-0 heading into the period three. The pressure would result in a short 5-on-3 as Vincent Trocheck went to the box for cross checking with 4.2 seconds remaining in the second.
There was not much action in the third, as the only goal came with an empty net from Jordan Staal to seal the game. This is the ninth time the Rangers have been shutout this season, and the second for Carolina goaltender Brandon Bussi this season.
When asked if the Olympic break could be used as a reset from all the recent chaos in Rangerstown head coach Mike Sullivan was honest saying “Everybody feels it… an opportunity to get away from it a little bit, recharge the batteries… could be beneficial.”
The NHL season is officially paused, as the Rangers will next take the ice on Februrary 26 at Madison Square Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers.
