The Carolina Hurricanes will be feeling a very strong feeling of deja vu tonight as once again, their inability to make a difference on special teams sealed their fate.

For the second straight game, the Hurricanes power play went 0-for-5.

For the second straight game, the Rangers scored two power play goals.

And for the second straight game, the Canes lost 4-3 at Madison Square Garden to fall into a 2-0 series hole.

The Hurricanes' inability to do anything right on special teams is baffling.

This is a team that finished the regular season with the number one penalty kill and the number two power play in the league and now both units look like those of a lottery pick team 

"Not much else there really to talk about," said captain Jordan Staal. "It's pretty evident. The PK has to kill and the power play has to convert on just one and we probably would have found a way to win."

The power play has been timid and perimeter-based and when the team finally decides to actually take a shot, there's no traffic in front.

"We definitely have to be sharper," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We have to get inside. We were all on the outside and that's just not how we do it anyway. We have to get back to doing it the way we know how to."

Despite scoring two goals off of deflections in front tonight, for whatever reason, the power play decided that they would be better off just taking clear sightline shots so Igor Shesterkin could pad his stats.

"We're a little too much on the outside and we have to shoot the puck a little bit more," said Jake Guentzel. "I think that's when we're at our best. When we're getting net-front traffic and just shooting it and breaking them down that way. So hopefully we'll get back to that."

The power play failed five times, but none as massive as the two opportunities in overtime. The Canes failed to generate anything dangerous on both and then when the Rangers got their crack at it, they made it count.

While the penalty kill was better, it still wasn't great.

Failed clears, porous coverages, juicy rebounds and it still gave up two goals, the goal that forced overtime and the eventual game winner in double overtime.

As a side note, the Canes have also now lost six straight playoff overtimes and are 1-10 in overtimes that go beyond the first.

So when the game mattered most, the PK failed.

The first one was on Frederik Andersen who just completely failed to control or subsequently locate a rebound and then the second was on Brent Burns who failed to clear the zone and then followed that up with being the man in front to be beat.

And again, the special teams disaster-class took away from what was once again a great game at even strength.

The Hurricanes had the edge in shots, chances, high-danger chances, expected goals and actual goals at even strength and would have more than likely won handedly could they have done anything on special teams.

At the very least, it has to be promising for the Canes that they at least got one of their key components going in Jake Guentzel.

The star winger who the team acquired at the trade deadline had been relatively quiet this postseason despite having five points, but he really showed up Tuesday night in New York.

Guentzel scored twice for Carolina, the first a deflection in front and then a one-timer blast from the slot, and he looked like the scorer they've needed.

"Whenever you can produce, it's a good thing," Guentzel said. "I'm fortunate to score goals in the playoffs. Obviously not enough. Wish we would have gotten the win."

In fact, overall it was a great game for the Hurricanes top line as Sebastian Aho had an assist on all three of Carolina's goals and Andrei Svechnikov was really throwing his weight around and making plays (outside of the handful of penalties he was called for).

"We've all just been playing well and just trying to do whatever helps to get the team a win," Guentzel said. "[Aho] is such a special player and whenever he gets the puck on his stick, you just have to be ready. You know he's going to find you. Obviously he made an unbelievable pass on the second goal from me. He's just an unbelievable player."

But again, the special teams play was simply unacceptable and cost them the game.

"At the end of the day, we know what we have to do to win," Brind'Amour said. "We're going to just have to find a way to do that. You can draw up anything you want, but at the end of the day, the guys know. They believe in there. I know it. They're the ones playing the game, but I think they understand what we have to do and I think they know that they feel capable of it."

Carolina will be feeling the pressure as they return home to PNC Arena in a 2-0 hole, looking to claw their way back into the series.

"We're right there," Guentzel said. "It's a small margin for error in the playoffs. We gotta buckle down on the power play and find a way to get one there. We're going to go home, play in front of our fans and move on."

Game 3 is slated for Thursday night at 7 p.m.

"Obviously Game 3 is huge and we're going to take our home crowd emotion and hopefully stick it to them," Staal said. "We have to get better in a lot of different ways, but it's always nice going home in front of our great fans and use that good energy and good emotion to find a way to get a win in Game 3."