RALEIGH, North Carolina — There are bumps in every streak. The Rangers had dominated the Carolina Hurricanes since 2011, posting a 19-2-0 record.
But this year’s edition of the Canes have youngsters and speed similar to the Rangers, and in their home opener Friday night their goaltender Cam Ward made far more stops than Henrik Lundqvist in a 3-2 win in front of a sellout crowd at PNC Arena.
The Rangers could not handle a persistent forecheck or Jeff Skinner, who scored twice and appeared to complete a hat trick at the end of the second period, but his shot was ruled to have been deflected in by Bryan Bickell.