RALEIGH, N.C. _ The Carolina Hurricanes just can't beat Henrik Lundqvist.
Not often. Not Thursday night.
Lundqvist, the veteran goalie who will one day be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, again was the winner as the New York Rangers topped the Canes 4-2 at PNC Arena in a Metropolitan Division game.
Artemi Panarin, Brendan Lemieux, Pavel Buchnevich and Adam Fox all scored for the Rangers. But this was Lundqvist's night to shine _ again _ as he improved his record to 22-4-0 in his last 26 games against Carolina.
Dougie Hamilton had a second-period goal for the Canes and Sebastian Aho scored in the third, but they were the only ones who could beat Lundqvist, who had a season-high 45 saves.
Canes goalie Petr Mrazek had won 15 straight games at PNC Arena, including the playoffs last season. But that streak ended as the Canes (9-6-1) dropped their third straight game.
The Rangers (7-6-1), who ripped the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Wednesday with Lundqvist in net, have won four of the past five.
In the first period, the Canes threw 22 shots at Lundqvist. Of their 18 skaters, 13 had a shot and there were another 22 attempts that were blocked or missed the net. That's 44 total attempts at a goal.
But Lundqvist, in net for the second straight night in the back-to-back, remained calm and in control. He was square to the shooters, challenging when he need to and anticipating well.
While the Canes fired away in the first _ it was their first 20-shot period of the season _ the Rangers scored on their sixth shot as Panarin, all but unchecked in the slot, rifled a shot past the Mrazek for his eighth goal of the season.
The Canes finally found way to beat Lundqvist in the second, with Hamilton and defenseman Jaccob Slavin teaming up. Slavin unleashed a shot from the point and Hamilton, between the circles, got a piece of the puck to score on the redirection.
Hamilton's seventh of the season tied the score but the Rangers' Lemieux gave the Rangers the lead at 18:04 of the second.
After the Canes' Brett Pesce tripped Rangers rookie forward Kaapo Kakko, Lemieux went to the front of the net and got a piece of a shot for the power-play score.
Buchnevich's goal came after a Jake Gardiner turnover in the Carolina zone in the third period. Buchnevich collected the puck in the left circle, skated in and beat Mrazek.
Aho's goal, his sixth, made it a one-goal game with four minutes left in regulation. But Fox, the defenseman traded by the Canes to the Rangers in April, had an empty-netter late to seal it after Mrazek was pulled.
Forward Eetu Luostarinen made his NHL debut for the Canes, who played without center Erik Haula, out with a knee issue. Luostarinen, recalled Wednesday from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, forced a first-period penalty on Rangers defenseman Marc Staal and gave the Canes some solid minutes on the fourth line.
