It was buried. Hidden beneath the 10 points from the Rangers’ top six, the latest reminder Artemi Panarin’s 120 regular-season points weren’t a fluke and — most of all — the numbers 4 and 3 illuminated on the Garden jumbotron that symbolized a 1-0 series lead.
The Blueshirts prevented the Hurricanes from peppering Igor Shesterkin with shots Sunday afternoon. He faced just 12 through the first two periods. Twenty-five altogether. Shesterkin, the former Vezina Trophy winner tasked with guiding the Rangers to the 16 wins necessary to hoist the Stanley Cup, didn’t need to carry them in their Game 1 victory, but there were moments, especially in the closing minutes when the Hurricanes pulled their goaltender and trimmed a two-goal deficit to one, when he needed to flash his vintage form.
When the final horn sounded, Shesterkin had become the first Rangers goaltender to win his first five starts in a postseason since Mike Richter — in 1994, of course — and one of three in history including Dave Kerr in 1937. His playoff streak of allowing three goals or fewer extended to 28 straight games.
Sunday’s 60 minutes captured the latest glimpse of what will make the Rangers a difficult group to eliminate in a best-of-seven series. Mika Zibanejad scored twice, once on the power play and once at even-strength after experiencing a lengthy five-on-five goal drought during the regular season. The Blueshirts were a perfect 2-for-2 with the man-advantage after scoring at a blistering 37.5 percent clip in the opening round. And Panarin added to his magical season with a shot that trickled past Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen in the third period for the eventual game-winning tally.
