Going into the third period against the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Thursday night with a 3-2 lead, the New York Rangers were getting ready to play hard, keep driving to the net, and finish out strong. Well, the tide turned as an awful call was made and it cost New York, and they were handed a 4-3 loss.
The Hurricanes were on a power play opportunity when Sebastian Aho fired a shot past goalie Antti Raanta, Henrik Lundqvist was out due to a lower body injury, to tie the game at three. Following a replay, head coach Alain Vigneault immediately challenged for goalie interference, as it looked like that Raanta was elbowed in the face, preventing him from making the save. A number of fans express their feelings on social media that the play should be overturned, but it was not, much to the dismay of Rangers fans.
Following the game, Vigneault told reporters he was 100% sure about challenging because he knew he was going to win it, so he was shocked when the referees did not overturn the call. Raanta was visibly upset himself and captain Ryan McDonagh called it a “tough loss”.  Mika Zibanejad scored twice for New York  as did Chris Kreider, who continues to amaze, with twenty-six goals this season.
The Rangers are 2-1-0 on their current 4-game road trip, wrapping things up on Sunday night against the Red Wings in their last visit to Joe Louis Arena. This was one of the team’s most heart wrenching losses all season, but it can only go up from here.
