Three stars
1. Petr Mrazek, Carolina Hurricanes
Curtis McElhinney has a heck of a night against the Buffalo Sabres, so it was Mrazek’s turn to step into the crease in the second half of a back to back. And boy, did he fill in and then some.
Mrazek made 27 saves in the game to hand the Rangers an eventual 3-0 loss. It was his second shutout of the season, slightly bumping his .894 save percentage coming into the game to .898.
More importantly, the Hurricanes grabbed two points and are now just one back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wildcard in the East.
The win also snapped an ugly record for the Hurricanes, who hadn’t won at Madison Square Garden in their past 16 attempts dating back to Oct. 29, 2010.
2. Warren Foegele, Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes top guns put in work on Thursday, so Friday’s game was going to be about secondary scoring.
Step up Warren Foegele, the Hurricanes’ fourth line left wing, who broke a 0-0 tie in the third period, scoring the game-winner.
Here’s the goal:
Took some time, but @FoegDaddy96 breaks the ice well in the third. pic.twitter.com/tEnB2rezak
— NHL (@NHL) February 9, 2019
3. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
The 3-0 scoreline might suggest Lundqvist had a worse night, but two of the goals allowed slid into the empty net.
Lundqvist gave his team a chance to win, like most nights. He stopped 30 of 31 in the game and got some help (like Mrazek) from a couple of shots that went off posts.
The problem was the lack of run support, due in large part to Mrazek.
Highlights of the night
The Rangers celebrated the 25th anniversary of winning the Stanley Cup in 1994 on Friday. There weren’t many games on the schedule tonight -- exactly one -- so here’s some highlights of the night that was at MSG.
The video tribute to the #NYR 1994 Championship Team that played @TheGarden for tonight’s celebration presented by @Chase. pic.twitter.com/KZIoSOfexm
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 8, 2019
The Moose:
.@TheGarden is electric with a rousing "Let's Go Rangers" chant, saluting the heroes of '94! #NYR pic.twitter.com/5L4f5i2Ola
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) February 9, 2019
And more Messier:
This is here solely for the cute factor:
Isn't 2-year-old Aria just the smartest?
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) February 8, 2019
She goes 7 for 7 in naming the #NHLJets!
How cute! 💙 pic.twitter.com/DKBPSXcasp
Factoids
Most Goals Among Defencemen Since November 27, 2018:#GoHabsGo Weber - 9#Flames Giordano - 9#GoHabsGo Petry - 8#SJSharks Burns - 8#Blackhawks Gustafsson - 8
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) February 8, 2019
Scores
Hurricanes 2, Rangers 0
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck