RALEIGH — Jackson Blake could have been forgiven if he let his first period turnover that led to a Rangers goal get to him.
“Obviously that was not what I wanted to start the game,” Blake said. “But the only thing you can do is just look at the next shift.”
Blake had to wait quite a few shifts for his redemption, but he got it.
The Hurricanes rookie hopped over the boards with the team’s second power play unit, skated to the slot and fired the puck under New York goalie Igor Shesterkin’s blocker for the game-winning goal with 7:59 left in Carolina’s 4-3 win Wednesday over the Rangers.
“I was a little surprised,” Blake said of having time to shoot after receiving the pass from Jack Drury. “(I took) a little peak to see if anyone was next to me, so I kind of settled it down. It was spinning a little bit, and then just kind of picked my spot and, fortunately, it went in.”
It was the seventh goal of the year for the 21-year-old, who earned a job in training camp and now ranks second in the league among rookies in goals.
“If you hang your head on that, you’re probably gonna feel kind of crappy the rest of the game,” Blake said of his first period turnover. “So I tried to do the best I could to kind of put that in the back of my head and move on.”
Making the goal even more significant was that Blake’s family was in the stands to see it.
“To score with them in the building and to win a game with all my family here — tonight’s the first one they’re all together at the game — it’s unbelievable,” he said.
It was the latest come-from-behind win for the Hurricanes, who are trying to navigate arguably their toughest stretch of games on their schedule without both of their top two goalies.
Spencer Martin, the team’s No. 3 goalie who picked up a win over Dallas on Monday, made 19 saves and did enough to help Carolina beat its division rival.
“We put him in a bit of a tough spot, obviously,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s been thrown to the wolves a little bit, but he’s handled it. It’s crucial.”
Carolina entered the third period down a goal after mistakes in the offensive zone led to a pair of goals that gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
After the Hurricanes lost possession of the puck after a point shot, they were out of position and allowed an odd-man rush the other way. New York rookie Brett Berard called his own number and beat Martin short side for his first career goal to tie the game just before the midway point of regulation.
Then late in the second, Drury flipped a puck to the point that defenseman Dmitry Orlov couldn’t handle. New York winger Reilly Smith raced up ice and backhanded a pass that Adam Enstrom put in the net for a 3-2 Rangers lead with 1:11 left in the period.
The Hurricanes pushed back in the third period and tied the game at 9:54.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi won a puck battle with K’Andre Miller to keep the puck in the zone. Ten seconds later, he got the puck back behind the Rangers net, fended off Miller again, and put a wraparound through the legs of Shesterkin (26 saves) to tie the game.
Carolina got a power play 36 seconds later when former Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck was called for hooking Seth Jarvis — who also scored on the power play in the second period on a 2-for-4 night for the unit — and got the goal by Blake at 12:01.
“He’s got a lot of confidence,” Brind’Amour said of Blake shaking off his early turnover. “Obviously, you’ve got to move on, next shift. And he was able to do that pretty well.”
The win improved the Hurricanes to 16-5-1 and extended their home winning streak to nine games.
“We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, have a good Thanksgiving,” Blake said. “I know some families are here and stuff. My family’s in town, so enjoy that with them. And then right back to work, right?”
Notes: Martin Necas had two assists and is alone in first in the NHL with 37 points. … Drury, who scored Carolina’s other goal on a bad-angle shot off Shesterkin’s mask and in, had his first two-point game since Feb. 16 and the third of his career. … Sebastian Aho had an assist and has nine points in the last five games.
