The Rangers suffered a brutal blow to their hopes of capturing the Metropolitan Division title on Tuesday, as the Blue Shirts fell to the Carolina Hurricanes 4–2 in a crucial matchup as the playoffs approached.
New York now sits as the 2nd seed in the division with 100 points, just 4 behind Carolina’s 104.
Prior to the matchup, the Blue Shirts had been hoping to overtake their rival in hotly-contested playoff positioning as the season dwindles and teams jockey for home ice advantage.
The team has 8 games left, including a game at Madison Square Garden against Carolina, so the team could still overtake the Hurricanes for the top spot, though the Tuesday night loss dealt a blow to the team, which has won 9 out of their last 12 matchups.
Head Coach Gerard Gallant brushed off the road loss, saying the team largely played well, though with some minor mistakes.
“We played pretty well in their building,” Gallant said. “Tonight it was an evening game.”
For more coverage of the Metropolitan Division race, head to amNY.com
Both teams had been held scoreless in the first period, but K’Andre Miller found the back of the net for the Blue Shirts in the second, just to be matched by Andrei Svechnikov of the Hurricanes around 10 minutes later.
The third period saw an onslaught of goals from Carolina, with Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho scoring in the period.
Rangers winger Chris Kreider, meanwhile, managed to put one past goalie Frederik Andersen in the third, which marked his 50th score of the season.
The Rangers clinched a playoff berth on April 9, and they’ll play their final game on Friday, April 29th.
