On Saturday April 12, the New York Rangers faced the Carolina Hurricanes in North Carolina needing a win to avoid being eliminated from contention in the 2025 NHL playoffs.
The Rangers didn’t get off to a good start as the Canes got on the board thanks to Jalen Chatfield’s wrister from the point which beat Igor Shesterkin through a screen.
Just over two minutes into the first period, Seth Jarvis made it 2-0 for the hosts when he received a pass in the slot and made no mistake firing a wrister over Shesterkin’s shoulder.
Rookie Jackson Blake stretched Carolina’s lead to three at 2 minutes gone by in the second period when a lucky bounce led to him getting the puck on the backdoor and sliding it behind Shesterkin.
Fast forward ten minutes later and Carolina’s Mark Jankowski sniped one past Shesterkin after some sustained offensive zone time by the Canes.
Leah Hextal: "Also Church Like and i'd say especially from the coaching staff, Peter Laviolette i haven't seen say prob more than two words to his group." #NYR pic.twitter.com/QnJgHZiMgu
— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) April 12, 2025
Just days after being awarded the Steven McDonald Extra Effort award, Rangers forward Will Cuylle scored a low wrist shot from the face-off circle to cut the deficit to 4-1. The goal was assisted by J.T. Miller and was Cuylle’s 20th of the season, making him the fifth Ranger to have 20 goals this season.
But right after that, Carolina’s captain Jordan Staal took the puck away from a Ranger forward in his zone, skated it the length of the ice, beat Braden Schneider and scored to make it 5-1 Carolina.
The Rangers fought back, earning two more goals; the first a one-timer from Miller on the power play; the second a nifty backhand by alternate captain Adam Fox, but by that time it was too little too late as the Canes skated to a 7-3 victory.
With the loss, the Blueshirts’ last-ditch effort to squeeze into the 2025 NHL Playoffs as a wild card team is over. The team has been eliminated from playoff contention because it is now impossible for them to catch the Montreal Canadiens who occupy the second wild card spot in the NHL eastern conference.
J.T. Miller will carry a four-game point streak into the Rangers next game against the Florida Panthers on Monday April 14.
