Rangers blow lead and fall to rival Hurricanes as skid hits four during tumultuous time

RALEIGH, N.C.— As much as a win over the Hurricanes would’ve been medicine for the Rangers’ soul, a loss was like further inflammation.The Blueshirts losing streak reached four games Wednesday night, after the visitors blew a third-period lead in a 4-3 loss to Carolina in front of a split-and-invested crowd at Lenovo Center.A victory over the Hurricanes in particular probably would have alleviated some weight off the Rangers for a myriad of reasons.

Instead, it has only piled onto what has been a tumultuous few days.The Canes are not only the second-ranked team in the NHL and the No.1 club in the Metropolitan Division, they’re a top-tier, hard-to-play-against organization the Rangers have set themselves apart from in recent years.

Beating Carolina twice in their past two playoff runs, the Rangers have usually come out on the winning side in going toe-to-toe with that team.Not on Wednesday.Not when they probably needed it most for team morale, which has evidently hit a low point amid the losing streak, and news that president and general manager Chris Drury has signaled to the rest of the NHL that he is looking to shake up the Rangers lineup.After giving up 40-plus shots in their past three games, the Rangers have now been outshot seven times in the 12 games they’ve played this month regardless of result.Defending a 3-2 lead at the start of the third period, the Rangers were not hemmed in their zone nearly as much as they had been through the first 40 minutes.It did not matter, however, as Jesper Kotkaniemi scored on a wraparound on Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin to even the score with 10:06 left in regulation.A Vincent Trocheck hooking penalty then sent the Hurricanes onto the power play with 9 ¹/₂ minutes left in regulation.

Jackson Blake crashed the middle of the zone without any resistance and put one past Shesterkin with ease to regain a lead that Carolina would hang onto for the remainder of the game.Despite a first period that came out even o...