RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes were playing at home in the playoffs.
The Canes scored a power-play goal and a short-handed goal.
The Canes also won a coach’s challenge, disallowing a New York Rangers goal.
That all added up to a 3-1 victory in Game 5 of the second-round playoff series at PNC Arena, keeping the Hurricanes undefeated at home in the playoffs and now one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Canes will get that chance in Game 6, Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. While 7-0 at PNC Arena, the Canes are 0-5 on the road and lost their first two games to the Rangers at the Garden.
Vincent Trocheck had the Canes’ short-handed score in the first period and Teuvo Teravainen had the power-play strike in the second – Carolina’s first power-play goal in the series.
When Andrei Svechnikov forced a turnover and scored on a breakaway in the third, cleanly beating Igor Shesterkin with a backhand through the pads with seven minutes left in regulation, PNC Arena was rumbling.
It wasn’t a very busy day for Canes goalie Antti Raanta but he had his share of timely stops, including a save against Chris Kreider before Svechnikov’s breakaway.
The Canes did everything needed to win this day Rookie forward Seth Jarvis might have lost a few teeth, and certainly lost some blood, taking a Ryan Strome stick in the mouth as the Rangers forward got off a shot in the second period.
The Rangers found good shots — or any shots — hard to come by, finishing with 17 in the game. One factor in limiting the New York shots: possession time. The Canes spent a lot of time in the New York zone, making the Rangers skate and work.
The Canes’ power-play troubles have been well chronicled. Before Thursday’s game, they had scored on just nine of their last 100 power plays — stretching into the regular season — and were 5 for 45 in the playoffs, 0-9 against the Rangers.
But Teravainen’s score at 9:47 of the second ended that futility. Teravainen beat Shesterkin with a quick shot from the bottom of the left circle off a Jarvis pass.
Special-teams play was a tradeoff in the first period, which ended 1-1.
After an offensive-zone penalty on the Svechnikov, Jordan Staal and Trocheck teamed up on Carolina’s short-handed score — the Canes’ second of the series. On a two-on-one rush, Staal made a well-executed saucer pass and Trocheck finished for his fourth goal of the playoffs at 12:57 of the first.
The Canes were not as efficient on their second penalty — a cross-checking call against defenseman Ian Cole, who cross-checked Jacob Trouba. It took the Rangers six seconds to convert on the power play, Mika Zibanejad one-timing a shot from the left circle for his sixth of the playoffs.
There were near-miss opportunities for both teams in the first two periods. Trocheck came inches from scoring on a wrap-around in the first — Andrew Lafreniere and Strome had a goal wiped out by an offside call against New York.
Strome blistered a shot from the left circle and beat Raanta at 4:57 of the second. But Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour challenged it, claiming offside on the Rangers’ Andrew Copp and had the goal disallowed.
After Teravainen’s power-play score, the Canes nearly added another goal. Sebastian Aho was left alone between the circle but rang the post with his shot with 3:14 left in second.
