NY Rangers 2, Carolina 0

RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Mike Dunham made 30 saves and defenseman Joel Bouchard and Bobby Holik scored Tuesday night to lead the New York Rangers to a 2-0 blanking of the Carolina Hurricanes.

With New York having won just two of its previous 12 games, a Canadian website reported that one more loss could have resulted in the firing of Coach Bryan Trottier with assistant Jim Schoenfeld expected to succeed him.

The Rangers were coming off two of their worst performances in Trottier's three-month tenure, a 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday and a penalty-filled 5-3 setback at Tampa Bay on Sunday in which they surrendered four power-play goals.

But Bouchard set the tone for one of the New York's better efforts of the season when he beat Arturs Irbe with an off-balance slap shot from the left faceoff circle just 27 seconds into the first period.

Holik made it 2-0 with another slapper, beating Irbe to the stick side 1:46 into the second for just his fourth goal. It was the Rangers' sixth power-play tally in five games.

Dunham made the lead stand with a number of key saves en route to his 12th career shutout and New York's first on the road since a 1-0 win Jan. 2, 1999 at St. Louis.