No quit in NC.
After forcing Game 5 in a do-or-die win in Raleigh Saturday night, the Carolina Hurricanes did it again at Madison Square Garden with a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers.
Despite giving up the first goal of the game, a shorthanded rip by New York captain Jacob Trouba, the Canes rallied in the third period, scoring four unanswered goals.
It was Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal who dragged his team into the fight.
Staal was a force all night, wielding his size and strength to not only keep the Rangers off the board, but to forecheck and generate chances as well.
But in crunch time, it was his hands and talent, a skill that almost seemed to have deserted him entirely, that came through.
Fresh off the bench, Staal received a pass from Dmitry Orlov, entered the offensive zone, dangled around Braden Schneider, outreached Igor Shesterkin and tucked in the puck.
After every loss, it's normally Staal that's seated in his stall, ready to answer the media's questions.
It's not because he needs to be held accountable, but because he's the leader. He knows what his job is. To answer for his team.
Ask anyone in the Hurricanes' room and they'll tell you how much they admire the leadership of Jordan Staal.
But he's the quiet type. The lead by example type. He doesn't really get the spotlight that perhaps he deserves.
But Monday night, there was no denying him the spotlight.
The Hurricanes captain created a ripple and the rest of the team rode that wave.
Not too long after, Evgeny Kuznetsov beat out Artemi Panarin to a rebound to put Carolina up by one and then Jordan Martinook buried a below-the-goal line feed by Martin Necas.
In 6 minutes and 32 seconds, the Canes had once again saved their season.
Martin Necas would score a long-range empty net dagger to secure the win and send the series back to Carolina.
It also can't be overstated how crucial Frederik Andersen was in the win.
Obviously he'd like the shorthanded goal back, but he made quite a few timely saves to keep the Hurricanes alive before that third period rally.
There's also a lot to say about the way the team all came together, buried their heads and got to work in the third period.
They didn't get on the scoresheet, but the top line once again was too much for the Rangers to handle and they generated look after look and gave up virtually nothing, wearing New York down.
And then the timely goals by the Hurricanes' depth.
Those are the goals they've needed if they wanted to overcome their power play woes, and that's exactly what happened.
Now we'll see if they can keep this magic going on Thursday.
One thing is assured though, PNC is going to be rocking.