Canes’ not-so-special teams glaring in Game 2 loss
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Vincent Trocheck‘s double-overtime goal was the perfect encapsulation of the New York Rangers‘ series against the Hurricanes so far: It was scored on a Rangers power play during another failure for Carolina’s penalty kill.
“Not much else to talk about. It’s pretty evident,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said after New York’s 4-3 victory to take a 2-0 series lead on Tuesday night. “The PK’s got to kill. If our power play converts on probably one [chance], we probably win. Everyone in the room knows our special teams need to be better.”
The Rangers went 2-for-7 on the power play in Game 2, after needing only 23 seconds to score twice on two opportunities in Game 1. For the playoffs, New York has 10 goals on 25 power-play opportunities (40%). Outside of the Edmonton Oilers, no one’s been hotter with the man advantage.
It’s not just how many power-play goals the Rangers score, but when they score them.
The Rangers tied the score at 3 on a power play, as Chris Kreider converted for his third goal of the playoffs at 6:07 of the third period with Dmitry Orlov in the penalty box for tripping.
Trocheck’s double-overtime winner was scored with Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei serving a penalty for cross-checking. Trocheck has scored in five straight games to join Cecil Dillon (5 GP in 1933) for the longest postseason goal streak in Rangers history.
That call on Skjei drew criticism on social media and during the broadcast for not being as emphatic as one might expect for a penalty whistled at 6:37 of the second overtime.
Staal was asked after the game if the Rangers were going down too easy on plays to draw penalties.
“Good question,” he said, before a lengthy pause to collect his thoughts. “It’s hard for the refs to know how hard guys hit other guys. It is what it is.”
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have been completely blanked on the power play against the Rangers. They were 0-for-5 in Game 1 and in Game 2, as the Rangers penalty kill went 10-for-10 to open the series.
“We’ve got to definitely be sharper. We’ve got to get inside. We’re all on the outside. That’s not how we do it. We’ve got to get back to doing it the way we know how to,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has been a factor on that perfect penalty kill, stopping all 10 power-play shots that he’s faced. That included two saves on Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho in overtime, sparking more chants of “I-GOR!” from Rangers fans.
“MSG was electric tonight. It’s an unbelievable feeling every time. [I was] almost crying,” Shesterkin said of the chants.
Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said: “That’s Igor … we don’t win that game without him.”
The Hurricanes had the best penalty kill (86.4%) and second-best power play (26.9%) in the regular season. In the first round against the Islanders, the Hurricanes went 5-for-15 with the man advantage — although they did allow three power-play goals on 11 opportunities.
But in this round, they’re getting dominated.
“That part of the game is going well right now,” Trouba said. “That can change. Obviously, we’d like it to stay this way, but you don’t want to win games strictly that way.”
Game 3 is Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Baltimore Orioles are “very, very hopeful” that star shortstop Gunnar Henderson (intercostal strain) will be ready for Opening Day.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Wednesday that Henderson suffered a mild strain on his right side.
“I’m very, very hopeful. But we’re going to not push a strain there, and we want to make sure that he gets it taken care of. It’s one of those sensitive areas where we don’t want anything to reoccur,” Hyde said.
Henderson departed last Thursday’s 11-8 spring training victory over the Toronto Blue Jays after the first inning with what the team termed “lower right side discomfort.” Henderson made a leaping catch in the top of the first inning and apparently felt soreness after hitting the ground.
Henderson is batting .167 in six plate appearances so far this spring.
The 2023 American League Rookie of the Year earned his first All-Star nod in 2024 batting .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs and 92 RBIs. He also stole 21 bases. He finished fourth in MVP balloting.
Henderson dealt with a left oblique injury during spring training in 2024 but recovered in time for the start of the regular season.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – New Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker was scratched from the lineup for a spring training game Wednesday because of soreness in his left oblique.
Walker missed more than a month last season with Arizona because of a strained left oblique muscle. He joined the Astros on a $60 million, three-year contract during the offseason.
In his first four spring training games for Houston, Walker was 4 for 8 with three doubles. He also had two walks.
Adding a first baseman over the offseason was a priority for the Astros after struggling Jose Abreu was released less than halfway through a $58.5 million, three-year contract.
Walker, who turns 34 on March 28, hit .251 with 26 home runs and 84 RBIs in 130 games for the Diamondbacks last season. He won his third consecutive Gold Glove at first base.
In 832 big league games, Walker has hit .250 with 147 homers. All but 13 of those games came with Arizona over the past eight seasons, after his MLB debut with Baltimore in 2014 and 2015.
Walker had two stints on the injured list because of right oblique issues in 2021. He played 160 games in 2022 and 157 in 2023, hitting 69 homers and driving in 197 runs combined over those two seasons.
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The Hall of Fame made some small adjustments to its veterans committee system to limit people with relatively little support from repeatedly remaining on future ballots, a decision that could make it harder to gain entry to Cooperstown for steroids-tainted stars such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Any candidate on the eight-person ballot who receives fewer than five votes from the 16-member panel will not be eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle, the hall said Wednesday. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.
Bonds, Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro and Albert Belle each received fewer than four votes in December 2022, when Fred McGriff was a unanimous pick. Bonds and Clemens were on a hall ballot for the first time since their 10th and final appearances on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. The rules change could limit reappraisals of their candidacies.
In addition, the historical overview committee appointed by the BBWAA that selects the ballot candidates must also be approved by the hall’s board of directors. The hall said the decisions were made by its board during a Feb. 26 meeting in Orlando, Florida.
In 2022, the hall restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, setting up panels to consider the contemporary era from 1980 on, as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era holds separate ballots for players and another for managers, executives and umpires.
Each committee meets every three years: contemporary players from 1980 on will be considered this December; managers, executives and umpires from 1980 on in December 2026; and pre-1980 candidates in December 2027.
Dave Parker and Dick Allen were elected last December and manager Jim Leyland in December 2023.
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