RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho extended the game. Ian Cole ended it. And that allowed the Carolina Hurricanes to escape their first home loss of the playoffs despite being completely outplayed most of the night.
Cole beat Igor Shesterkin at 3:12 of overtime to help the Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 2-1 Wednesday night, making a late rally to win Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Aho had forced the extra period when he pushed one past Shesterkin late in the third period in a dramatic finish. Yet it overshadowed the fact that the Metropolitan Division winners were fortunate to win after the Rangers controlled the first 40 minutes.
“Kudos to our guys, they got it going in, it certainly was a good third period,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “We're not going to get away with that, not playing two periods and expect to win a game — especially at this time of year against that team.”
The Hurricanes won home-ice by securing the division title with a win against the Rangers in Madison Square Garden in the final week of the regular season. They nearly handed it over but instead will seek a sixth straight win here when they host Game 2 on Friday night.
Cole’s rebound winner clipped the stick of Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, with the puck changing direction before slipping past Shesterkin.
“I was looking to pass it to someone," Cole said. “And no one was really kind of anywhere dangerous. So I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’ll throw it on net and see what happens.'”
"Hockey's a game of weird bounces and it happened to go in. Not the prettiest, but we'll take it.”
The score capped Carolina's late comeback, which began with the Hurricanes showing more urgency and aggression coming out of the second
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