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NEW YORK — Jordan Staal and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 3:06 apart in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes got four goals in the third for a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the second-round playoff series on Monday night, staving off elimination for the second straight game.

Jordan Martinook and Martin Necas also scored in the Hurricanes’ big third period, and Frederik Andersen — starting for the fourth time in five games in this series and ninth time in 10 games in the postseason — had 20 saves.

Jacob Trouba scored a short-handed goal and Igor Shesterkin stopped 24 shots for New York, which has lost two straight after taking a 3-0 series lead.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Hurricanes won despite going 0 for 3 on the power play to fall to 1 for 20 in this series while giving up a short-handed goal for the second time.

Staal tied it 1-1 at 3:33 as he got a pass from Dmitry Orlov, skated around one Rangers defender in the left circle, came in on Shesterkin and beat him with a backhanded shot that went around the leg of the sprawled goalie. It was Orlov’s first goal of the playoffs.

Kuznetsov then gave the Hurricanes the lead as he knocked in the rebound of Brady Skjei‘s shot from the right side for his fourth of the postseason.

Martinook made it 3-1 just before the midpoint of the period. Necas sent a centering pass from the end boards, and the puck went off Jack Drury‘s stick to Martinook, and he quickly sent a shot that beat Shesterkin.

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for an extra skater with 3:44 to go, but Necas sent a long shot that went into the empty net 15 seconds later.

The Rangers got a power play when Orlov was called for roughing at 3:47 of the second period. Shortly after the penalty expired, New York’s Jack Roslovic was whistled for tripping, putting Carolina’s struggling power play on the advantage. However, it was the Rangers who broke through.

Trouba blocked a shot by Sebastian Aho, skated up the ice on 2-on-1 rush and fired a shot from the right circle that beat Andersen at 6:23. It was his first goal of the playoffs and the Rangers’ fourth short-handed tally.

The Hurricanes got another power play at the midpoint of the period, but didn’t get a shot on goal during the advantage. Shesterkin then denied Drury’s point-blank try with 6 minutes to go in the second.

Carolina had a 10-9 advantage on shots on goal in a scoreless and fast-paced first period. Both teams had chances and the goalies had to make several nice saves.

Shesterkin had a skate save on Staal about 2 1/2 minutes in and then had a pad save on another try by Staal at 8:41. He also turned aside Jake Guenzel’s breakaway attempt with about 3 minutes remaining.

Andersen had a right pad save on Chris Kreider in close with about 6 minutes to in the period.

New York got the first power play of the game when Kuznetsov was sent off for slashing with 1:55 left in the first. However, the Rangers managed just one shot on goal during the advantage.

Rangers rookie sensation Matt Rempe was back in the starting lineup after sitting out Games 3 and 4. Filip Chytil played in his place in Game 3 and Jonny Brodzinski in Game 4.

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NHLPA appeals Hartman’s 10-game suspension

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NHLPA appeals Hartman's 10-game suspension

NEW YORK — The NHL Players’ Association said Wednesday it has filed an appeal on Ryan Hartman‘s behalf after the Minnesota Wild forward was suspended for 10 games for roughing.

Hartman had 48 hours from the league’s ruling Monday night to decide whether to appeal the ban for slamming an opponent’s head to the ice with his right forearm, the longest for on-ice conduct in more than six years.

The initial appeal goes to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who has regularly sided with the Department of Player Safety and disciplinary decisions made by its vice president, George Parros. If Bettman upholds the suspension, Hartman has the right to appeal to a neutral arbitrator.

Hartman is forfeiting $487,805 in salary as part of his fifth career suspension and fourth since 2023. He would get more than $48,000 back for each game it is reduced by, if at all.

Washington‘s Tom Wilson recouped six games worth of salary when his 2018 suspension was reduced from 20 to 14 on appeal to an arbitrator jointly appointed by the league and union, even though he had already served 16.

Hartman, 30, was initially ejected with a match penalty for roughing Ottawa‘s Tim Stutzle late in the second period of the teams’ game Saturday night.

“Hartman contends that he is attempting to use his hand to regain his balance, using Stutzle for support and that their fall to the ice is accidental. We disagree,” Player Safety said in a video announcing the suspension. “With Stutzle bent low and focused on winning the draw, Hartman chooses to take advantage of a vulnerable player in an unacceptable fashion. Hartman intentionally uses his forearm and body weight to drive Stutzle’s head directly into the ice from a height, which makes this play inherently dangerous and unacceptable.”

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Crosby being evaluated for upper-body injury

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Crosby being evaluated for upper-body injury

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury.

Crosby did not practice Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he got caught between a pair of New Jersey Devils in the third period of what became a 3-2 shootout loss.

The Penguins superstar missed several shifts in the third period after colliding with New Jersey’s Luke Hughes and Erik Haula. Crosby skated to the bench favoring his left arm/hand but returned after being examined in the locker room.

Crosby played the final minutes of regulation and overtime. He also participated in the shootout. Asked afterward about the injury, Crosby said he simply got “tangled up” and did not get into specifics.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan did not speculate on whether Crosby would miss any time, saying “let’s not get ahead of ourselves” when asked whether there’s a chance the team could be forced to play without Crosby.

The Penguins play the New York Rangers on Friday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Crosby, 37, is slated to serve as captain for Team Canada in the tournament.

The Canadians open play against Sweden on Feb. 12 in Montreal.

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Blackhawks activate forward Smith (back) off IR

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Blackhawks activate forward Smith (back) off IR

CHICAGO — The Blackhawks activated forward Craig Smith from injured reserve before Wednesday night’s game against Edmonton.

Smith had been sidelined by a nagging back injury. He was in the lineup against the Oilers, playing on a line with Lukas Reichel and Pat Maroon.

The 35-year-old Smith has six goals and five assists in 30 games in his first season with Chicago.

The Blackhawks also assigned defenseman Artyom Levshunov and forward Colton Dach to Rockford of the American Hockey League.

The 19-year-old Levshunov was brought up on Monday to give him a chance to practice with the team during the AHL’s All-Star break. The IceHogs’ next game is Friday night at Texas.

Levshunov was the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s NHL draft. He missed the start of the season because of a fractured right foot.

“We’ve had two good, spirited practices with a lot of pace and compete and that was a good learning experience for him to see,” interim Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen said. “Talking to him, he was kind of baffled how quick it was at times but that’s good. That’s how you realize where you need to be.”

The 22-year-old Dach made his NHL debut on Jan. 3 against Montreal. The 6-foot-4 forward, a second-round pick in the 2021 draft, had one goal and three assists in 13 games with Chicago.

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