Svechnikov has 3 points, Hurricanes shut out Rangers

NEW YORK -- Andrei Svechnikov scored two goals and had an assist, Mikko Rantanen got his first point with the Carolina Hurricanes, and Frederik Andersen made 22 saves for his first shutout this season in a 4-0 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Taylor Hall also picked up his first point since he and Rantanen were acquired by Carolina in a three-team blockbuster trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. They each had assists on Svechnikov's goals.

Carolina (31-16-4) has a six-game point streak (5-0-1).

"They're great players and those goals I was trying to be patient because I knew they were going to find me," Svechnikov said.

Andersen is the fourth Carolina goalie with a shutout this season joining Pyotr Kochetkov, Dustin Tokarski and Spencer Martin.

The Hurricanes are the fourth team in NHL history and first since the 2002-03 St. Louis Blues to have at least four different goalies record a shutout in the same season. The others are the 1980-81 Montreal Canadiens and 1972-73 Boston Bruins.

"I'm not sure that's a good stat," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Oh boy, I don't want to do that again. I don't want to be on that list. That's a lot of stress on everybody. But it does say a little bit about the group, I think. We can figure it out. It's nice to have the top guys back, though."

Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves but the Rangers (24-22-4) lost their second game since a 10-game point streak.

"Most of their chances came off turnovers," Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. "When we stuck to what we wanted to do and what we should do we created some good chances. "

Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead 56 seconds into the first period, scoring with a wrist shot from between the circles off a pass from Hall.

The goal came after Artemi Panarin tried to carry the puck through three Hurricanes, resulting in a turnover. Hall carried the puck into the right face-off circle and found Svechnikov as the trailer coming in.

"The first one is tough," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "You start a game and you go down 1-0. You know it's a big game. You know it's against one of the division leaders. That's a tough one."

Shesterkin kept it 1-0 early in the second with a sweeping blocker save coming across the crease on Eric Robinson at 6:36 and a save on Rantanen on a 2-on-0 with Jackson Blake at 7:52.

Andersen kicked his left skate out to prevent Chris Kreider from scoring into what appeared to be an open net at 11:03 and Svechnikov's stick check on Sam Carrick stopped him from potentially scoring off a rebound at 12:55.

"That type of stuff obviously is huge," Andersen said of Svechnikov's defensive play. "Obviously he has a good offensive game, but that stuff is just as important if not more on our team. We appreciate that type of effort."

The Hurricanes went ahead 2-0 lead at 19:29, when Rantanen set up Svechnikov in the slot.

But the play started on the other end, when Vincent Trocheck had a short-handed breakaway but chose to try a between-his-legs backhanded pass to K'Andre Miller instead of taking a shot. The pass was broken up by Shayne Gostisbehere.

"Gostisbehere was chasing me down on my forehand," Trocheck said. "I couldn't get the puck on my forehand. I was too tight to Andersen to get around him. He had a tough angle for me. He was right on top of it. I could have shot it and buried it into his chest or tried to make the play to (Miller). Unlucky that it hit his skate."

Gostisbehere moved the puck to Rantanen, who sent it across to Blake. He gave it back to Rantanen, who found Svechnikov in the slot.

"That's hockey, right," Brind'Amour said. "You come down on one end and you don't execute and oh, there's your game. That's the difference in the game, really, probably that play."

Brind'Amour said that play is indicative of what Rantanen will bring to the Hurricanes just as Hall's assist on Svechnikov's first goal is an example of the type of speed and vision he will provide them.

"The players we've added we're going probably to see a little more of that stuff versus some of the other way we've been playing," he said. "There's a little transition going on here, but we get open ice with the players we've added I think you're going to see more of that."

The Hurricanes put it away in the third period.

Sebastian Aho extended the lead to 3-0 at 1:04, scoring off a defensive zone turnover by Kreider. Seth Jarvis made it 4-0 at 2:30 with a one-timer from the high slot.

The Rangers had three shots on goal in the period.

"We didn't let them get a sniff on coming back in this game," Andersen said.

NOTES: Hurricanes forward Jack Roslovic didn't play because he was sick. Defenseman Riley Stillman made his season debut with the Hurricanes. He played 7:40 and had a fight with Carrick at 6:02 of the first period. … Svechnikov became the seventh player in Hurricanes history to have 20 three-point games following Eric Staal (64), Aho (47), Teuvo Teravainen (26), Brind'Amour (25), Ray Whitney (22) and Jeff Skinner (21).