Recap: Rangers Earn a Point but Fall 3–2 to Hurricanes in Overtime

At the official midway point of the New York Rangers 2025-26 campaign, the Blueshirts took on the Carolina Hurricanes as they continued on their end of year road trip. Coming off their shutout loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday, the Rangers looked to get back on track in another divisional matchup but would come out of it with just one point to show for.

As we suspected from earlier in the day, Brennan Othmann spent the night in the press box as Conor Sheary returned to action in his place. Here’s how the line combinations at least started for the night.

First Period

Will Cuylle had a fantastic chance within the first thirty seconds of play as he picked off the puck at the blue line and came in on Brandon Bussi on a partial breakaway. Cuylle made the wise choice and opted for a quick shot but the glove, on the opposite side of where goalies typically wear one, was quicker. 

Not long after, Noah Laba had a sneaky break through the slot and ended up taking a stick to the hand from Alexander NIkishin which drew the first penalty of the game. Vladislav Gavrikov would replace Scott Morrow on the top power play unit which paid immediate dividends as Artemi Panarin set him up with a perfect pass for a one timer that sailed past Bussi to the back of the net, making it a 1-0 game early. 

The goal came as the first power play goal of Gavrikov’s NHL career. 

Closer to the midway point of the opening period, K’Andre Miller—who was playing against the Rangers for the first time since the offseason trade—nearly found the back of the net as he hit the post with a shot from the top of the circle. That would be one of two close calls for the Rangers as Igor Shesterkin had some trouble with a point shot that took a weird bounce off the pad with close to eight minutes to go in the period. 

The Hurricanes would get their first power play of the night with about five minutes to go as Jonny Brodzinski was called for tripping on an aggressive forecheck in the offensive zone. After twenty seconds, the man advantage would turn to a 5-on-3 as Schneider sent the puck over the glass on a clearing attempt. It wasn’t long before Carolina found a way to convert as a lethal wrist shot from Sebastian Aho found the back of the net to tie the game up 1-1. 

The Rangers would fight off the remainder of the power play but it came as quite the momentum shifter in Carolina’s favor as they dictated the play for the rest of the period. At the end of 20, shots were 12-5 in Carolina’s favor. The Rangers got off to an impressive start but things quickly shifted as the period went on.

Second Period

Close to a minute into the middle period, Taylor Raddysh was tripped up in the offensive zone by Logan Stankoven which sent the Rangers back to the power play. They wouldn’t have much luck the second time around as neither unit got much of anything done. As the period continued on, the Rangers weren’t adding a ton to their shots on goal total but they were keeping up with the Hurricanes who were still pushing. If it wasn’t for some key saves from Shesterkin, this game easily could have gotten away from the Rangers quickly. 

With seven minutes exactly left in the second, a strong zone entry from Matt Rempe got the puck back to Matthew Robertson at the point. The one time shot from Robertson created a rebound in front for Brodzinski to bury, regaining the lead now 2-1. 

A minute later, the Rangers headed back to the penalty kill as Will Borgen was called for tripping. Noah Laba, who missed the majority of the first period after taking that slash, had a brilliant chance shorthanded as he drove hard to the net on a partial breakaway but was turned away by Bussi. Raddysh went hard to the net for the rebound and wreaked havoc as Bussi struggled to freeze the puck and his teammates were quick to his defense. 

It was far from the most action packed period but the Rangers took advantage of their chances and got some stellar goaltending to come out of it with a 2-1 lead. Shots after forty minutes of play were now 20-14 in Carolina's favor.

Third Period

It was a slow start to the final period of regulation as the Rangers were eventually pressed in their own end of the ice and went on to ice the puck three consecutive times. The fourth whistle in that stretch came in the form of a hand pass from the Rangers and shortly after, it was the Hurricanes icing the puck. Of course all the slowed down play went on to work in Carolina's favor.

Nearing the midway point of the period, a shot from Jalen Chatfield went off the pad of Shesterkin before hitting the skate of Jordan Martinook and trickling into the back of the net. There was some contact with Igor as this was happening but the Rangers didn't feel it was worth a challenge as the game was now tied 2-2.

For the most part, Carolina continued to dictate play from that moment on. More often than not, the Rangers were pressed in their own end of the ice and couldn't manage to generate any consistency in the other end of the ice whatsoever. Six of the Rangers' last 13 games went to overtime and this one would be no different. The score remained locked at two apiece with minimum action on either side sending this one to overtime. Final shots in regulation would be 30-19 Carolina.

Overtime

The Rangers won the ever important face-off to kick off 3-on-3 overtime but after a couple turns of possession, neither side got anywhere close to calling the game. With two minutes to go, Taylor Hall tried deking around Robertson who ended up tripping him up to give Carolina a man advantage. Just 13 seconds or so away from a shootout, Jackson Blake deflected a shot from the point through the legs of Shesterkin to give the Hurricanes the extra point.

Not an awful game but certainly not a great one either. The Rangers picked up a point against a top opponent in the East but this late in the season, every point becomes all the more important. The Rangers are back at it in Washington Wednesday afternoon for their final game of 2025.