NEW YORK — Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Game 4 Tuesday night, evening the second-round series.

Mika Zibanejad also scored, Ryan Lindgren had two assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots for the Rangers, who won their fifth straight at home in the postseason. In the series, New York won two at home after opening with two losses at Carolina.

Teuvo Teravainen scored and Antti Raanta finished with 24 saves for the Hurricanes, who fell to 0-5 on the road in the postseason to go along with their 6-0 mark at home.

Game 5 is in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday night, and Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

The Rangers have won two straight against the Hurricanes after losing eight of the previous nine meetings, including a three-game sweep in the qualifying round of the 2020 playoff bubble and 3 of 4 in the regular season.

Teravainen spoiled Shesterkin’s shutout bid when he scored his third of the playoffs at 6:33 of the third off a pass from Sebastian Aho, pulling the Hurricanes within 3-1.

Copp restored the Rangers’ three-goal lead as he converted from the right side off a pass from Ryan Strome with just under nine minutes remaining. It was his fifth of the playoffs.

There was more pushing and shoving between players in the closing seconds of the game, with the Rangers’ Ryan Reaves and Carolina’s Max Domi being separated by officials as they exchanged words.

Shesterkin made a sprawling save on a shot by Teravainen that deflected off the skate of Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller about two minutes into the second period, preserving New York’s 2-0 lead.

Carolina got its first power play midway through the second period, but couldn’t convert. About a minute into the Hurricanes’ advantage, the Rangers had a two-on-one, short-handed chance but Raanta made a sprawling save on Zibanejad. Forty seconds later, Martin Necas fired a shot that got past Shesterkin but hit off a goalpost to keep Carolina scoreless.

The Rangers pushed their lead to 3-0 with 3:12 left in the middle period as Zibanejad brought the puck up the ice on a rush, and dropped it off for Lindgren.  The defenseman fired a shot that Raanta stopped, but as the puck trickled through his pads, Zibanejad swooped in behind him and knocked it in for his fifth of the playoffs.

Shesterkin made a spectacular glove save going from right to left on Brett Pesce 1:20 into the game on the Hurricanes’ first shot on goal, drawing a big roar from the home crowd that was buzzing even before the puck drop.

Alexis Lafreniere took the puck away from Carolina’s Jordan Staal, skated in on a breakaway, but Raanta denied his backhand attempt at 3:44.

The Rangers were unhappy with a fight that broke out at the end of Game 3 on Sunday between Lindgren and Domi. New York Coach Gerard Gallant was also seen yelling at Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo.

In this one, Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba delivered a hard hit on Domi along the side boards as the Hurricanes’ forward was falling to the ice. Carolina’s Steven Lorentz skated into Trouba and the two dropped gloves with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first. Lorentz drew a 10-minute misconduct and a minor for instigating in addition to the fighting majors he and Trouba received.

The Rangers took advantage of the ensuing power play as Vatrano got a pass from Copp in the right circle and fired a one-timer past Raanta with 6:29 left. It was his third of the playoffs.

Fox made it 2-0 just 2:11 later as he deflected a shot by Lindgren from the top of the left circle past Raanta.

NOTES

LIGHTNING: Jon Cooper had every reason to be confident the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning could keep their bid for a three-peat alive.

“Our story is not finished being written,” the coach said earlier this month with his team on the brink of elimination in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “We’ve got a lot left in us, we feel.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of reasons.

The reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner has won six straight games since the Lightning fell behind the Maple Leafs 3-2 in their opening round series, including a Game 7 gem in Toronto and a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Up next is Tampa Bay’s sixth trip to the East finals in eight years, where they’ll face either the Carolina Hurricanes or New York Rangers.

“We’ve found a recipe that has obviously allowed us to go deep into the playoffs, and especially in the last 2 1/2 years now, and we want to keep it up,” captain Steven Stamkos said after Monday night’s 2-0 victory over Florida gave the Lightning its first sweep of a playoff series in 11 years.

“It’s the most fun and gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking time of the year, but that’s just an amazing feeling,” Stamkos added. “You can’t really describe it unless you go through it, and this group has certainly been through it.”

Vasilevskiy had 49 saves and posted the sixth shutout in his past seven series-clinching wins.

Since yielding three or more goals in each of Tampa Bay’s first six games against Toronto, he’s given up four total in the last five outings.

“It’s my job to just give our boys the chance to win, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job doing that the whole series,” Vasilevskiy said, playing down the way he’s played time and time again during his team’s championship run.

“Nothing special. I think it’s just the way the whole team is playing in those games. The whole series just constant blocked shots, sacrifices, and boys literally breaking bones to stop the puck,” the goaltender added. “Just such a great effort by everybody on our team. It’s obviously not just me. I’m just trying to do my job as best I can.”

Pat Maroon, chasing his fourth consecutive Stanley Cup title, snapped a scoreless tie a little over six minutes into the third period. Ondrej Palat added a empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining for Lightning, who had two goals disallowed within a 48-second span of the second period.

The Lightning joined the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens as the only franchises to win at least 10 consecutive playoff series. Maroon, who won with St. Louis in 2019 before signing with Tampa Bay two years ago, has been a part of 14 consecutive series wins.

“I’m fortunate to play with two really good teams the last few years, but this team has been very impressive,” Maroon said.

“The way we compete. The way we stick in there every every game, we’re never out of it. … It’s been tremendous to watch what we’ve been through the last few years,” Maroon added, “and it’s unbelievable to be a part of it.”

Tampa Bay is the third franchise to win at least 10 consecutive playoff series. Montreal has done it twice, taking 13 in a row from 1976-80 and 10 straight from1956-60. The New York Islanders won a record 19 in a row from 1980-84.

Two more series wins, and the Lightning will become the first team to win three consecutive Stanley Cup titles since the Islanders claimed four in a row from 1980-83.

MONDAY’S LATE GAME

AVALANCHE 6, BLUES 3: Nazem Kadri scored three goals, including two during a four-goal second-period barrage, and visiting Colorado took a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference series.

Kadri’s outburst came after he received racist death threats on social media following a first-period collision with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Kadri, who was booed heavily every time he touched the puck, skated toward the glass and appeared to salute the Blues fans after each of his first two goals, inciting even more jeers. It was his first career playoff hat trick.

Erik Johnson and Devon Toews also scored and Mikko Rantanen added an empty netter for the Avalanche, and Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves.

David Perron scored twice and Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist for the Blues. Ville Husso, making his first start since Game 3 of the first round against Minnesota, made 31 saves.

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