Vincent Trocheck of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania recorded his first Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner of his National Hockey League career on Tuesday. He accomplished the feat in a 4-3 Rangers double overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes on the power-play at Madison Square Garden. Mika Zibanejad of Huddinge, Sweden and Artemi Panarin of Korkino, Russia picked up the assists. The Rangers had the man advantage because Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei took a cross-checking penalty. In an interesting statistic, this was Trocheck’s 14th Stanley Cup playoff goal, but his very first Stanley Cup playoff game-winning goal. With the win, the Rangers lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series two games to none.
Rangers Powerplay Clicking
One major reason why the Rangers are leading the series is because of the success of the power-play in game two. In addition to Trocheck scoring the overtime-winner with the Rangers having the special teams advantage, Chris Kreider of Boxford, Massachusetts tied the game at three from Trocheck and Panarin at 6:07 on the power-play. At the time, the Rangers tied the Hurricanes at three. The Rangers were on the power-play because Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov had taken a tripping penalty.
Who contributed to the Rangers offensively?
Three Rangers had multi-point games in game two. Panarin had three assists, left winger Alexis Lafreniere of St-Eustache, Quebec scored twice and Trocheck had one goal and one assist for two points. The other Rangers goal scorer was Kreider. Trocheck and Zibanejad led the Rangers with six shots on net each.
Hurricanes unable to protect their lead
Carolina had a 2-1 lead after the first period, and 3-2 lead after the second period. However, the Hurricanes were undisciplined at key times, and their inadequate penalty killing proved costly and that is why they are trailing in the series. Game three takes place in Raleigh on Thursday.
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