| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The highest payroll in the NHL is finally
starting to pay off.
Radek Dvorak and Michael York scored 1:31 apart in the first
period as the New York Rangers defeated the slumping Carolina
Hurricanes 4-1 Thursday night.
|  | | Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe stops New York's Radek Dvorak this time, but Dvorak got one puck past him earlier. |
The victory by the surging Rangers was their fourth straight and
sixth in seven contests.
"We weren't playing well (early) and that's the first thing
people are going to pick on," New York coach John Muckler said of
the team's $61 million payroll. "Whether that's fair or not fair
you knew that was coming. That was a given before the season
started. If we didn't play well, we knew we were going to hear about
it every day and that's exactly what happened."
That talk has now quieted as the Rangers are making a serious
playoff move in the Eastern Conference.
"It's exciting," said Muckler. "Winning can become contagious
just like losing came hurt you, like a disease. This is something
that can snowball. You never know how long it can go."
On the other side, the Hurricanes dropped their season-high
fifth straight. The last time Carolina lost as many was the final
five games of the 1997-98 season.
"One victory would do wonders for this hockey team right now,"
said Carolina coach Paul Maurice. "The mistake-to-goal ratio is
not in our favor to say the least."
John MacLean's goal 2:11 into the third period sealed the
victory for the Rangers, who scored three times on their first 11
shots. MacLean's empty-net score with 1.4 seconds left was the
400th goal of his career.
Ron Francis broke Richter's shutout bid, scoring with 4:05 left.
However, the New York goalie stopped 38 of 39 shots, many in
spectacular style.
"We don't want to give them the amount of opportunities we did,
but he was there for us," New York defenseman Kevin Hatcher said
of Richter. "He is a top goaltender in this league. In one
respect, he could have gotten us the win regardless of the two-goal lead we had in the first period."
The Hurricanes, opening a key five-game homestand, were 0-for-6
on the power play against one of the six teams they're battling for
two playoff spots.
The Rangers scored on the power play for the ninth time in their
last 11 games when Dvorak netted his eighth, on a one-timer, off a
nice cross-ice pass from Petr Nedved. It was the eighth goal the
Hurricanes have surrendered in their last 11 short-handed
opportunities.
"You knew that first goal was going to be important," Muckler
said. "Then we got the second one and that really shifted the
momentum to our side."
Less than two minutes later, York took a similar pass from Adam
Graves and buried the puck past a sliding Arturs Irbe for a 2-0
lead midway through the first period. York's 13th goal tied New
Jersey's Scott Gomez for tops among rookies.
Because of a quirk in the NHL schedule, the teams met for the third
time in 12 days. Carolina's last win was 1-0 against the Rangers on
Jan. 9, which was also New York's last loss.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
NY Rangers Clubhouse
Carolina Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Rangers 4
Carolina 1
Ottawa 1
Philadelphia 1
Boston 4
Tampa Bay 2
Phoenix 2
Buffalo 1
Dallas 5
Los Angeles 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 John MacLean scores the 400th goal of his career.
avi: 840 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Radek Dvorak scores the first goal for New York.
avi: 611 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Adam Graves feeds Mike York for the Ranger goal.
avi: 798 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
