NHL Metropolitan

The New York Rangers held off the Carolina Hurricanes to secure a 4-3 victory in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second-round series between the two teams.

Both New York and Carolina got off to hot starts, as Mika Zibanejad scored off a smooth feed from Jack Roslovic less than three minutes into the first period. The excitement was short-lived, as Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin tied the game up just over a minute later.

The Rangers continued to execute in power-play situations, as Zibanejad secured his second goal of the evening after Canes defenseman Tony DeAngelo picked up a roughing penalty. The Presidents' Trophy winners weren't done just yet, as Vincent Trocheck scored another power-play goal before the end of the period.

After a scoreless second period, both teams traded goals to start the third before Seth Jarvis scored to pull Carolina to within one goal. However, New York was able to maintain the team's 4-3 lead over the final minute and 45 seconds of play.

Fans were impressed with the Rangers as well as the continued strong play of Zibanejad, who racked up two goals and an assist on Sunday after leading the team in points during the first round.

The 31-year-old recorded his 16th multi-point game in the playoffs for the Rangers, putting him in a tie with Rod Gilbert for the third-highest mark in franchise history.

The Rangers will now attempt to jump out to a 2-0 series lead, hosting the Hurricanes in Game 2 on Tuesday.

It only took the Carolina Hurricanes five games to eliminate Mathew Barzal and the New York Islanders from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Islanders' season ended Tuesday night with a 6-3 Game 5 loss after a third-period collapse in North Carolina.

Barzal assisted twice as the Islanders recovered from an early deficit to head into the final frame with the score tied.

The Islanders then allowed two goals in eight seconds.

The late collapse disappointed Islanders fans, especially after New York blew a three-goal lead earlier in the series while losing Game 2 to the Hurricanes:

The elimination loss was particularly painful after fans watched former Islanders captain John Tavares set up a game-winning overtime goal, keeping the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff hopes alive in their own series against the Boston Bruins, the same night:

To add insult to injury, the New York Knicks also lost in overtime to the Philadelphia 76ers, squandering a chance to close out their own first-round series in five games.

In addition, the New York Yankees lost 4-2 to the Baltimore Orioles.

The Islanders now face the question of how much to rebuild the current roster in the offseason after a regular season in which they only narrowly qualified for the playoffs.

Tuesday night's collapse had some fans calling for a complete rebuild:

While the Islanders prepare for locker cleanout, the Hurricanes will advance to the second round. Next the Canes will take on the New York Rangers, fresh out of their first-round sweep of the Washington Capitals.

The New York Rangers are the first team to advance in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After taking the first three games of the series against the Washington Capitals, New York finished the job Sunday with a 4-2 victory.

It was the first series sweep for the Rangers since 2007, when they swept the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round.

The Presidents' Trophy winners did not take long to get on the board, as Kaapo Kakko scored within the first minute.

Washington would tie it at one, but Vincent Trocheck would reestablish the lead before the first period ended.

Hendrix Lapierre scored for the Caps in the second, and the teams entered the final period knotted at two. However, Panarin would score within the first five minutes of the third to put New York in the lead for a third time.

Washington could not find the equalizer, and an empty-net goal from Jack Roslovic ensured New York's trip to the second round.

Igor Shesterkin had 22 saves, and Panarin's four shots led the team.

Fans took to social media to congratulate Panarin and the Rangers for clinching a berth in the next round:

The Rangers advance out of the first round for the first time since 2022. They will face either the Carolina Hurricanes or the New York Islanders in Round 2.

A battle for New York supremacy could be interesting, as it has not happened since 1994. However, it could be a tough ask considering that the Islanders are trailing the Hurricanes 3-1.

If Carolina advances, New York could ride the extra rest and the fact that it won the season series 2-1.

The Washington Capitals are on the brink of elimination after going down 3-0 to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Capitals dropped Game 1 4-1 before making things a little more challenging in Game 2 but still losing 4-3. On Friday, the Rangers handled Washington 3-1.

Just five teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 deficit, so history certainly isn't in the Capitals' favor. Washington will need to be perfect from here on out, but it's hard to imagine it has what it takes to win four straight games.

After the loss, fans ripped veteran Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals for going down 3-0.

Ovechkin has been a nonfactor for the Capitals in this series. He has yet to record a goal or assists and has a -1 +/-. His sluggish play has made things much more difficult for Washington and has irked fans.

Ovechkin is already a legend, but if he can somehow will his team back from the 3-0 deficit, he would further establish that status and win back some fans after his early struggles.

The Capitals and Rangers will face off in an elimination game on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

The New York Rangers sure looked like the NHL's best team on Sunday.

Led by goals from Matt Rempe, Artemi Panarin and Jimmy Vesey—all within just over two minutes of each other in a frantic second period—the Rangers beat the Washington Capitals, 4-1, claiming Game 1 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Martin Fehervary scored the lone goal for Washington, just over a minute after Vesey capped the Rangers' goal bonanza.

Chris Kreider capped the scoring on a third-period breakaway, setting a Rangers' postseason record with his 41st goal, while Barclay Goodrow added two assists for New York.

Panarin's goal, meanwhile, ended a nine-game postseason scoring drought for him.

No team scored more points during the regular season than these Rangers (114), which included a regular-season split with the Capitals. And Sunday's very convincing performances had fans and pundits alike feeling that a big postseason might be on tap:

The Rangers defense was superb, holding the Capitals to just 21 shots, with Igor Shesterkin deftly handling 20 of them. This was a complete performance.

And the Big Apple is so hype for these Rangers, even the New York Yankees were showing them the love on Sunday:

It's a special time in New York. The Rangers, Islanders and Knicks are in the postseason. The Yankees have started 15-7 behind the star power of Juan Soto, and the Mets are 12-8. The NFL draft is upcoming for the Jets and Giants, where hope springs eternal.

But no team in the city looks better than these Rangers. One down, 15 to go.

Former NHL great Jaromír Jágr became the oldest player to take regular shifts in professional ice hockey on Thursday.

Jágr made his first appearance since turning 52 on Thursday, breaking legend Gordie Howe's record. Howe made his final professional hockey appearance when he was 52 years, 11 days old in 1980. He also suited up for a single shift with the Detroit Vipers in the International Hockey League at age 69 in 1997.

Jágr, who had a 24-year NHL career, rejoined the Kladno Knights in the Czech Republic for the first time since Feb. 10. In his first appearance back on the ice, he scored a goal to give the Knights a 1-0 lead 1:59 into the second game of a playoff relegation series against Vsetin.

Kladno won the game 7-2, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Jágr's final NHL appearance came in the 2017-18 season when he played for the Calgary Flames. He had a goal and six assists that year in 22 appearances.

Jágr spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who retired his jersey earlier this year. During the early stages of his career, he helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992, becoming one of the youngest players in NHL history to score in a Stanley Cup game at age 20.

The 13-time All-Star ended his career with 766 goals in 1,733 NHL games played. While he had a storied NHL career, he's still breaking records at age 52.

Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen was stretchered off the ice Saturday after a hit from Tampa Bay Lightning forward Michael Eyssimont.

Jensen appeared to lose consciousness after colliding with the boards at Capital One Arena.

The collision occurred in front of the Lightning bench with fewer than two minutes remaining in the first period.

The Capitals announced that Jensen suffered an injury after the hit but that he was "conscious, alert and has the use of all his extremities."

Jensen logged seven minutes of ice time and recorded one shot on goal prior to the hit.

Officials delayed the final 1:31 of the period until after the intermission.

Eyssimont leads the Lightning with 99 penalty minutes so far this season. No penalty was called following the hit on Jensen.

Jensen had led all Capitals skaters in ice time before his exit. He was skating on the second pairing alongside Alex Alexeyev.

The blueliner's usage has increased since his usual defense partner, Rasmus Sandin, suffered a regular-season ending head injury. Sandin was similarly hurt after a hit by Ottawa Senators forward Parker Kelly sent him into the boards on April 7.

In Sandin's absence, Jensen has played a major role during the Capitals' late-season push for one of the two remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. He led all Washington skaters with more than 25 minutes on the ice Tuesday during a crucial 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to help keep the Capitals in the postseason race.

The 33-year-old defenseman began his NHL career with the Red Wings in 2016 before he was traded to the Capitals in 2019. He is in his fifth full season in Washington.

Jensen had recorded one goal and 13 assists in 77 contests this season heading into Saturday's game.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is still performing at a high level at 36 years old, and he continues to garner respect from his peers.

Crosby was voted the NHL's most complete player in the annual NHLPA poll released Wednesday. He's won the honor in all five years that the Players' Association voted on the category.

Crosby received 38.4 percent of the votes, beating out Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers (14.6 percent) by a wide margin.

A total of 639 NHLPA members participated in the poll this season, which is the ninth time it has been conducted. Players from all 32 teams were surveyed anonymously during the first half of the regular season.

Crosby also finished second (13.6 percent) to Ryan O'Reilly of the Nashville Predators (14.5 percent) in "the player you'd most want to take a faceoff on your team."

He also finished second but well behind Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid as "the forward you'd want on your team if you needed to win one game," earning 11.6 percent of the votes to McDavid's 48.7 percent.

Behind Crosby's leadership, the Penguins are 36-30-12 this season. Pittsburgh remains in the hunt for a wild-card spot as the regular season winds down.

For a full list of results from the 2023-24 NHLPA Player Poll, click here.