The first game of the second-round series between the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes was an eventful one from start to finish. The Presidents’ Trophy winners got the best of the visiting Hurricanes, beating them 4-3 in a very physical Game 1.
Chris Kreider committed the first penalty of the game just 6:14 minutes into it. That said, it was former New York Ranger Tony DeAngelo, now playing for Carolina, who grabbed all the headlines because of a dangerous elbow thrown in Will Cuylle’s head direction midway through the first period.
DeAngelo was rained with boos from the Madison Square Garden crowd and he didn’t help himself with the penalty for his brutal hit on Rangers rookie Cuylle.
“I don’t give two you-know-whats about it,” DeAngelo said after the Game 1 loss on May 5, via ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.
Confusion Followed Tony DeAngelo’s Elbow to Will Cuylle’s Head
While DeAngelo’s elbow to the head of Cuylle was blatant and clear to spot, the officials on the ice had some trouble coming up with a proper penalty, let alone assigning some penalty-box time to the Carolina Hurricanes player.
Canes’ Martin Necas, who was also involved in the sequence leading to DeAngelo’s hit on Cuylle, was initially called for tripping on the Rangers rookie. The refs talked about that decision on the ice and decided he was not the player that should be penalized.
That led the officials to wipe that penalty from Necas, announcing that DeAngelo was the main offender in the action and that after reviewing his hit on Cuylle, he would be the player sent to the penalty box.
The refs gave DeAngelo a major penalty (five minutes) for an illegal check to the head, but after reviewing it they reduced it to a minor penalty (two minutes) for roughing Cuylle.
“I’m not even going to get into it, it’s tough,” DeAngelo said about the officiating of his hit on Cuylle. “It’s a tough job for them guys, and then they make a call. So, it is what it is.”
Rangers Took Full Advantage of Power Play Opportunities
Right after DeAngelo was sent to the box, Mika Zibanejad pounced on the man-advantage chance and scored New York’s second goal of the contest to put the Rangers up 2-1. It took him just nine seconds from the start of the power play.
DeAngelo was asked about the MSG crowd and the arena’s atmosphere playing a part in Carolina’s decisions and borderline-legal plays leading to penalties and power play opportunities for the Rangers, but he didn’t think that was the case.
“No, that’s the playoffs,” DeAngelo said about the Rangers faithful. “You guys know how great New York is as a sports town. They do a good job cheering their team on. But we don’t care.”
The Rangers had two power-play opportunities and they scored on both. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, went 0-for-5 with their man-advantage chances.
P.K. Subban Defended Tony DeAngelo’s Headshot
Former NHL defenseman and current hockey analyst P.K. Subban discussed DeAngelo’s hit during the first intermission of Game 1 between the Rangers and the Canes on May 5. According to Subban, DeAngelo’s hit was a clean one.
“[DeAngelo] does not elbow him at all,” Subban said about the hit while reviewing a replay of the action. “He hits him. He finishes. It’s a clean hit. What’s he getting two minutes for? It’s the playoffs!”
Subban, however, agreed with the refs’ initial call for tripping on Necast as he placed his right leg between Cuylle’s legs to try and make him fall before DeAngelo blasted him with an elbow to the head.
“Maybe you call the tripping on Necas, that’s the only thing that maybe could be called, but it’s two guys going in to make a hockey play… I don’t see anything dirty.”
Speaking after the Game 1 loss on May 5, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters that he did not receive any convincing explanation from the refs about the call on DeAngelo’s hit.
“No,” Brind’Amour said, via The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. “Not one that made sense.”
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