RALEIGH, N.C. — Goalie Alexandar Georgiev called it a team win, but the Rangers couldn’t have done it without him. 

Behind 44 saves and an all-around outstanding performance from Georgiev, the Rangers overcame a brutal turnaround in the second game of a back-to-back with a 2-0 win over the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes on Sunday night at PNC Arena. 

“It felt pretty great,” Georgiev said after securing his first shutout of the season and seventh of his career, which improved the Rangers to 40-18-5 and had much of the building chanting his name by the third period. “It’s been a long time since I had a game like that, where it’s not a lot of goals and a tight game until the end. I tried to enjoy that and be in the moment.” 

It was evident just how much this game meant to the Rangers’ backup netminder, who has carried on through another tough season in a role that he is not fit for. The clock is definitely ticking on Georgiev’s tenure in New York, but the Bulgarian put on the kind performance that catches the attention of general managers around the NHL. 

The chances of Georgiev being dealt before Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline are slim, since the Rangers need an adequate backup to go into the postseason, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. The chances of Georgiev remaining with the Rangers next season, however, are essentially nonexistent. 

Georgiev has fielded questions all season long about how he’s handled the limited playing time, and his answers understandably just keep getting shorter. 

“It’s not easy,” he said bluntly. 

Still, the 26-year-old goalie credited the rest of the Rangers for the win — even though he was the biggest reason for it. Georgiev said the Rangers are mentally tough, but that better describes him, especially considering the situation he’s been in the past couple seasons. 

“He gave us a chance to win,” said newly acquired forward Frank Vatrano, whose empty-net goal sealed the victory and was his first with the Rangers. “He kept us in there. We tried to play [the] best defense as possible in front of him.” 

The game took a turn in the second period when referee Chris Rooney botched the call on a play that should’ve been a Rangers goal. 

Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen thought he was sitting on the puck, but it was clearly loose to the side of the net and right in front of Rooney. Filip Chytil continued to battle for the puck and put it in on a wraparound, but Rooney had whistled the play dead. It was a bizarre sequence that could have deflated the Rangers, but it did the opposite. 

What felt like seconds later, Chris Kreider deflected a shot from Jacob Trouba past Andersen to give his team a 1-0 lead at 15:39 of the second period on the Rangers’ eighth shot of the game. The goal was Kreider’s third in the last four games and 41st of the season. 

Carolina finished with a 44-18 advantage in shots, but Georgiev stood on his head through it all — including three Hurricanes’ power plays. The Rangers were hemmed in their zone for much of the final frame, only mustering six shots as the Hurricanes frantically put the puck on net. 

“We were lucky today,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “I’d like to say we came in here and played a great game. But last night was a great game, today was a great goaltender who was unbelievable and made great saves.”