Rangers’ Offense Takes Wind Out of Hurricanes

Henrik Lundqvist shook off a second-period injury and made 31 saves, Rick Nash moved back into a tie for the NHL goal lead, and the New York Rangers snapped out of an offensive funk to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 Saturday night.

The Rangers had lost two straight since the All-Star Game, mustering only one goal in the process, but Nash and Dominic Moore scored in the first period, and Chris Kreider and Dan Boyle added insurance tallies 21 seconds apart in the third.

The Rangers have taken the first four meetings from the Hurricanes this season and have won 15 of 16 overall against Carolina, including nine straight at home.

Lundqvist got quite a scare nearly five minutes into the second period when a rising shot by Malone got to him as Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh was trying to knock down the puck. His stick appeared to catch Lundqvist under the mask at his throat, and Lundqvist fell backward to the ice.

He instantly began writhing in pain with his legs flailing, but after being treated for about 5 minutes, he remained in the game while fans saluted him with chants of "Hen-rik, Hen-rik!"

The Rangers spent much of the first pinned in their zone. They were outshot 15-8 and relied on Lundqvist to bail them out multiple times.

Nash got New York's slumping offense rolling 6:30 in on the Rangers' second shot. Nash intercepted Andrej Sekera's clearing pass in the neutral zone and brought the puck into the Carolina end. He snapped a shot from above the left circle and beat Ward under the right arm for Nash's 29th goal of the season and first in four games.