Panarin's OT winner puts Rangers on cusp of 2nd straight sweep - ESPN

RALEIGH, N.C. — The New York Rangers erased an early deficit to take momentum, only to squander their lead late with a huge postseason road victory only minutes away.

It didn't prevent them from staying unbeaten in the NHL playoffs with a second straight overtime win and inching closer to the Eastern Conference final.

Artemi Panarin redirected a pass between his legs at the crease to beat Pyotr Kochetkov just 1:43 into OT and the Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round series.

Panarin ended it after the Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov had scored with the extra attacker and only 1:36 left in regulation to tie it, sending a jolt through Carolina's normally boisterous crowd for the overtime period. Yet the Rangers pounced when the moment arrived to stun Carolina in a matchup of two of the league's top three teams in the regular season.

«This is a resilient group, and they've been in these situations before,» New York coach Peter Laviolette said about the intermission before OT. «And I think [it was] just sending messaging that we're doing the right things, we were going to finish this because of what we've been through and the way we're playing the game right now.»

Of course, it helps to have a finisher like Panarin.

The deciding play began when Carolina's Dmitry Orlov lost control of the puck in the corner in the defensive zone. Vincent Trocheck collected it on the right side and sent it toward the crease to Panarin, who tipped the puck behind him as defenseman Jalen Chatfield tried to push him away from the crease.

The puck slipped under the right elbow and past the ribs of Kochetkov, sending Panarin into celebration and the Rangers soon joining him near the door