What makes it more galling for the Hurricanes is that they are elite on special teams. During the regular season, their penalty kill was the best in the League (86.4 percent) and their power play was second (26.9).
They were 5-for-15 on the power play against the New York Islanders in a five-game series in the first round, but things have dried up against the Rangers, who had the third-best penalty kill in the League during the regular season.
In Game 2, the goal that tied it 3-3 — by Rangers forward Chris Kreider at 6:07 of the third period — came on the power play. Trocheck scored the winner 47 seconds after Brady Skjei took a cross-checking penalty.
In Game 1, Mika Zibanejad and Trocheck scored first-period power-play goals to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead that put the Hurricanes on the back foot.
Their inability to match New York on the power play has been the deciding factor so far.
“We’ve got to be sharper,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We have to get on the inside. We’re on the outside. That’s not how we do it anyways. We have to get back to how we know how to.”
That reset has to start immediately with Game 3 at PNC Arena in Raleigh on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Teams that open a best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at home like the Rangers have here go on to win the series 88.6 percent of the time.
The Hurricanes have been down 0-2 in a best-of-7 series and won twice; they are just 1-for-6 when losing the first two on the road.
Not only that, but New York has won each of its first six games this postseason, sweeping the Washington Capitals in the first round.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin is playing to a .929 save percentage after six games. He made 54 saves Tuesday.
The Hurricanes know it’s not going to be easy, but they were defiant in their cramped, funereal dressing room at the Garden on Tuesday.
They believe there is a way back.
They look at the things they did well in Game 2 and see hope. They dominated 5-on-5 play for long periods and were the more dangerous team in overtime.
“We feel good about it,” captain Jordan Staal said. “The guys worked their tails off and we had some great looks 5-on-5, as well, to end the game and then we wouldn’t even be talking about it.
“Everyone in the room knows that our special teams have to be better, and we’ll get better and find a way to turn the tide in the series.”
OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.
Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.
American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.
Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.
Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.
The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.
Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.
The game was not immediately rescheduled.
“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.
BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.
Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes.
The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.
Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year’s Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.
He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.
Shapovalov will next face the winner of a match scheduled for later Thursday between defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
