NEW YORK — Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall looked good in their Hurricanes debut Saturday.
On Tuesday, the duo also showed up on the score sheet.
Andrei Svechnikov had two goals — the first set up by Hall, the second by Rantanen — and saved another in the defensive zone, and Carolina got a 22-save shutout from Frederik Andersen to beat the Rangers 4-0 at Madison Square Garden.
“Those goals, I was trying to be patient because you know they’re going to find you,” Svechnikov said of scoring on the first Hurricanes points for both Rantanen and Hall.
Hall set up the first 56 seconds into the game by finding Svechnikov in stride as he entered the offensive zone for a goal.
“He was noticeable every shift, and that’s what we need out of him,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Hall. “If he can continue to do that, we’re getting a real good player there.”
Rantanen’s first point with the Hurricanes was one for the highlight reel.
New York center Vincent Trocheck turned down a shorthanded chance for a failed between-the-legs dropped pass, sending the Hurricanes the other way on a rush.
Rantanen came up the left wing and passed cross-ice to Jackson Blake, who quickly sent a saucer pass back to Rantanen.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin lunged to stop the incoming shot, but Rantanen instead quickly passed to a crashing Svechnikov for an easy tap-in for his second goal of the night and 17th on the season with 31 seconds left in the middle frame.
Jackson Blake’s cross-ice dish was perfectly placed, but then it’s one-upped by just an outrageous additional touch from #96.
That’s the 40th assist of the season for the newcomer and when he’s doing stuff like that, it’s pretty easy to see how he has so many. pic.twitter.com/a1jsIWKu3F
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) January 29, 2025
“I kind of knew he gonna make those plays because he’s one of the best players in this league,” Svechnikov said of Rantanen’s pass.
The goal snuffed out the Rangers’ momentum and set Carolina up to take over the game.
“I think the players we’ve added, we’re going to probably see a little more of that kind of stuff versus maybe some of the other ways we’ve been playing,” Brind’Amour said of the added skill of Rantanen and Hall. “There’s a little transition going on here, but we get open ice with the players we’ve added, I think you’re gonna see a little more of that.”
The Hurricanes opened the third period with two quick blows in the first 2:30 to put New York away.
The first came off another Rangers turnover, as Chris Kreider’s attempted chip pass off the boards was out of reach and instead went to Svechnikov, who snapped a pass to Sebastian Aho as he reloaded between the circles. Aho went around New York defenseman Ryan Lindgren and scored over Shesterkin’s right pad for his 17th goal of the year and a 3-0 Carolina lead.
Eighty-six seconds later, Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook wore down the Rangers behind the New York net, and Martinook came free with the puck and centered to Seth Jarvis, who was alone in front for his 19th goal of the year to make it 4-0.
All that was left after that was Andersen finishing the job.
The 35-year-old goalie, making his third start after returning from knee surgery, was composed all night and also got help from his teammates — most notably by Rantanen and Svechnikov, who both saved goals.
Mikko Rantanen is showing he’s responsible in his own end too.
A nice intercept here, denying what looked like it would be a dangerous chance for Artemi Panarin. pic.twitter.com/PahgTON7Rz
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) January 29, 2025
“That type of stuff, obviously, is huge,” Andersen said.
But Andersen — who improved to 5-1-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average and .924 save percentage — had to do some of the work himself. No save was better than one on Kreider when the game was still 1-0 in the second period.
How in the hell???pic.twitter.com/PPIEaMEJyR
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) January 29, 2025
“He had probably a little bit more time than he realized,” Andersen said. “And obviously sometimes you gotta get a good bounce like that. … You throw whatever you have over there and hope for the best.”
The Hurricanes limited the Rangers to just three shots in the third to improve to 5-0-1 in their last six games.
“The third, we really shut it down really, really well and didn’t really let him get a sniff of coming back into this game,” Andersen said.
Notes: Riley Stillman played his first game with the Hurricanes, wearing the same No. 61 his father, Cory, did on Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup-winning team. Stillman finished with one shot, two hits and fought Rangers forward Sam Carrick in the first period. … Sean Walker had six shot attempts, including three shots on goal. … Andersen is the fourth Hurricanes goalie to record a shutout this season, making Carolina the fourth team with four or more goalies to earn a shutout in one season.
