Hurricanes lose goalie Raanta, Jarvis in Game 7 vs. Rangers

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes found themselves in a quick hole in a Game 7 against the New York Rangers. Losing key players like Seth Jarvis and goaltender Antti Raanta only made things tougher for any chance of a comeback.

The Hurricanes lost Jarvis to an upper-body injury after he took a jarring first-period hit by New York defenseman Jacob Trouba, then lost Raanta in the second period when he went down after stretching out for a stop and was helped off the ice putting no weight on his right leg.

It was part of a rough all-around Monday night in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers that ended their second-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Afterward, coach Rod Brind’Amour said Raanta’s injury was serious enough he wouldn’t have been able to play had Carolina advanced.

“No chance,“Brind’Amour said.

“He’s going to get checked out tomorrow. That knee would’ve been out probably — I don’t know for sure, but he didn’t look too good walking out of here, or limping out.”

Carolina gave up two power-play goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game to send the Hurricanes into catch-up mode against a Rangers defense anchored by star goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The Jarvis injury came between those two goals, while Raanta’s came with 4:23 left in the second period while the Hurricanes were still within 2-0.

The 33-year-old Raanta — pressed into a lead role when No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen suffered a lower-body injury in mid-April — had taken a shove from the Rangers’ Chris Kreider on one side of the crease while making a stop, then skated to his right as the puck headed toward Mika Zibanejad on the other side.

Raanta extended his right leg in a split to make the stop, and almost immediately went forward and landed face down on the ice. He was eventually helped back to the bench with assistance from teammates Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter before heading into the locker room, not putting any weight on his right leg.

Raanta was ruled out and rookie Pyotr Kochetkov, who came on in Game 2 of the Hurricanes’ series against Boston when Raanta exited early with an injury, entered.

AP-Yonhap Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta, second from left, is helped off the ice by right wing Nino Niederreiter, left, and center Vincent Trocheck, second from right, after he was injured during the second period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series against the New York Rangers in Raleigh, N.C., Monday.