FRIDAY, MAY 27 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D5
BY AARON BEARDraleigh, n.c. — The Carolina
Hurricanes controlled long
stretches of play, stayed aggres-
sive and even got a breakthrough
in a two-month struggle on the
power play.
It was enough to secure another
home playoff victory. Now Caro-
lina can turn its attention to trying
to put away the New York Rangers,
too.
Vincent Trocheck buried a
shorthanded goal, Teuvo Tera-
vainen had a rare power-play
score, and the Hurricanes beat the
Rangers, 3-1, on Thursday night to
take a 3-2 lead in their second-
round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Andrei Svechnikov also scored,
beating Igor Shesterkin with a
backhander on a breakaway mid-
way through the third period as
Carolina extended its Game 5 lead.
“It was kind of the game that
I’ve been waiting for,” Hurricanes
Coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
“We’ve been playing okay, but to-
night was good all the way around
— more obviously how we want to
play.”
It was part of yet another strong
home performance for the Metro-
politan Division champions, who
improved to 7-0 at PNC Arena this
postseason.
Now Carolina faces the chal-
lenge of putting away a team that
has been resilient, even stubborn,
when facing a series deficit. The
Rangers rallied from a 3-1 hole to
beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in a
seven-game first-round series,
then dropped the first two games
against the Hurricanes before
fighting back to even it at 2-2.
“The way I look at it, we’ve
played a lot of must-win games
lately, and we’ve done a pretty
good job,” said New York’s Ryan
Strome, who had a second-period
goal negated by a successful off-
sides challenge from Carolina.
“We’ve played some desperate
hockey.... We seem to like being
in this position a little bit.”
Mika Zibanejad scored a pow-er-play goal for the Rangers, win-
ning a first-period faceoff and
then drifting to the left side for the
putaway just six seconds into the
man advantage. Shesterkin — a
finalist for both the Vezina Trophy
for the league’s top goalie and
Hart Trophy for MVP — made
31 saves against a steady stream of
work.
The Hurricanes’ power-play
struggles have been going for two
months, with t he team coming
into the game converting on just
nine of its past 89 opportunities.
Yet after an 0 for 9 start in the
series, Carolina finally broke
through with quick and crisp puck
movement. Rookie Seth Jarvis
zipped the puck to Teravainen for
the left-side putaway and a 2-1
edge at 9:47 of the second, mark-
ing the Hurricanes’ first goal with
the man advantage since Game 6
against Boston.
“We had just kind of talked after
the last game,” Teravainen said.
“Just reset and start over and just
we don’t have to think too much
[of what’s] behind, keep thinking
what’s going forward.”
Carolina’s first goal came on
special teams, too, though on a
perfectly executed shorthanded
rush off a New York turnover.
Jordan Staal carried the puck on
the left side until Rangers de-
fenseman K’Andre Miller laid out
to stop a pass, but Staal lifted the
puck off the ice and over Miller’s
legs to a charging Trocheck on the
right side for a 1-0 lead at 12:57 of
the first.
“The pass that Jordan made
was incredible,” Trocheck said.
The Hurricanes, who also re-
ceived a shorthanded goal from
defenseman Brendan Smith in the
Game 2 win, have two such goals
in the same playoff series for the
first time since 1992.
Strome appeared to have given
New York a 2-1 lead just five min-
utes into the second when he col-
lected his own entry pass on the
boards and beat Raanta. But on
the review, linemate Andrew
Copp was clearly across the blue
line as he tried to tag back up.
“It definitely sucks, but that’s
the way it goes,” Strome said. “It’s a
rule. It’s cut and dry. It happens.”
— Associated PressSTANLEY CUP PLAYOFFSCarolina takes Game 5,stays dominant at homeHURRICANES 3,
RANGERS 1widdie added 26 points, includ-
ing five three-pointers, off the
bench. Doncic powered a frantic
third-quarter rally that trimmed
Dallas’s deficit to eight, but over
the course of the series his singu-
lar talent was dwarfed by Golden
State’s advantages in experience
and depth.
“I’m still learning,” he said. “It’s
my first time in the conference
finals in the NBA. I’m 23, and I’m
still learning a lot.”
Perhaps still feeling the effects
of the past two seasons, which
included Curry suffering a long-
term hand injury and Thompson
enduring two extended injury
rehabilitations, the Warriors
were careful not to get ahead of
themselves as they closed in on
this series win. Kerr dodged a
question about the possibility of
a Finals trip shortly before
Game 5, and Curry was similarly
mum when asked whether this
postseason run was especially
gratifying at this stage of his
career.
“We’ll see,” the 34-year-old
said, hinting that satisfaction will
come only with another four
wins.Former Warriors guard Shaun
Livingston presented the West-
ern Conference championship
trophy to Green and the rest of
his former teammates. Green lat-
er lifted Curry off the ground as
the crowd chanted “M-V-P!”
All these years after they ar-
rived on the scene as title con-
tenders in 2015, the Warriors still
possess a delightful duality: They
seem to be making things up as
they go along with their unpre-
dictable offensive style, yet they
still find a way to end up at their
desired destination. To wit, Gold-
en State improved to 9-0 at home
in these playoffs, with all three of
its closeout wins coming at Chase
Center.
“You can call them a dynasty,”
Mavericks Coach Jason Kidd
said. “They have three great play-
ers who will be all Hall of Famers,
and this is a great lesson learned
for us.”
Dallas, a surprise entrant in
the West finals after it upset the
top-seeded Phoenix Suns, acquit-
ted itself well. Luka Doncic led
the way Thursday with a team-
high 28 points, nine rebounds
and six assists, and Spencer Din-the ball up the middle in transi-
tion and flipped an extended
behind-the-back pass to Thomp-
son for another three. With the
score tightened early in the
fourth, Thompson returned the
favor, threading a pass to Green
for a basket in the paint.
Thompson, who missed
941 days with knee and Achilles’
injuries before returning to the
court in January, delivered the
dagger by hitting his eighth
three-pointer of the night to give
Golden State a 15-point lead with
2:59 remaining. He finished with
a game-high 32 points, two re-
bounds and three assists.
“I’m so happy to be back,”
Thompson said.
Green added 17 points, six
rebounds and nine assists.
The Warriors’ core trio re-
ceived hugs from Kerr as they
were treated to standing ovations
from the home crowd when they
checked out with the win in hand.
Curry waved his towel enthusias-
tically as the final seconds ticked
off and clapped toward the crowd
while donning an NBA Finals hat
with his teammates for the post-
game trophy presentation.dance, understanding the gravity
of the occasion and executing
their steps on cue.
By winning the Western Con-
ference, the Warriors completed
a remarkable turnaround from a
pair of injury-plagued seasons in
which they finished with the
West’s worst record in 2019-20
and missed the playoffs again in
- Now they will seek their
fourth title under Coach Steve
Kerr against the Boston Celtics or
the Miami Heat.
Curry, whose comeback from a
March foot sprain powered this
playoff journey, was named the
inaugural winner of the Magic
Johnson award, given to the MVP
of the Western Conference finals,
after he averaged 23.8 points,
6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the
series.
“This is special,” Curry said.
“We know this isn’t the ultimate
goal, but we’ve got to celebrate
this because of all the work we
put in these last few years.”
After an unsettled showing in a
Game 4 loss mere hours after the
Uvalde, Tex., school shooting,
Golden State gathered itself at
home and raced out of the gate
with a balanced attack. Kevon
Looney opened the scoring in-
side, Thompson drained a three-
pointer, and Curry set up an
Andrew Wiggins dunk and hit a
three of his own. Within four
minutes, the Warriors were up
nine, and their lead swelled to 17
at halftime and 25 in the third
quarter. Despite a gallant Maver-
icks comeback attempt, Golden
State held on for a resounding
victory at Chase Center.
“This one is special because
this is a group that no one
thought could get back here,”
Green said. “We won 15 games
two years ago. This group contin-
ued to come every day to put the
work in. Our coaching staff has
been amazing, and we’re here.”
While Curry, who finished
with 15 points, three rebounds
and nine assists, took a step back
offensively to serve as orchestra-
tor, Thompson and Green turned
in big performances to finish off
the Mavericks. In the first half,
Green found Thompson coming
off a screen with a perfectly timed
pass for a three-pointer. Early in
the second half, Green pushed
WARRIORS FROM D1
Warriors are back on top in the West
JEFF CHIU/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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