RALEIGH, N.C. -- The New York Rangers played a road game with many of the fans cheering for them. The Rangers gave them plenty to be happy about Friday night.

Especially center J.T. Miller, who provided key offense in a 4-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Our system is to have an aggressive forecheck and we did a good job, especially in the first 40 minutes," Miller said.

The Rangers were quick to grab momentum in front of a sparse crowd on a wintry night. That meant it seemed like a pro-Rangers turnout at PNC Arena.

"We came out really focused," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "We set the tone in the first with a lot of good chances."

Miller scored twice in a span of slightly more than two minutes midway through the second period. Miller, who has 12 goals this season, typically excels in road games because he has a team-leading nine goals away from home.

"A young player going through a process and figuring out his game and what he can bring to the team to contribute," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said of Miller.

Defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Keith Yandle also scored for the Rangers (26-16-5), who have won three of their last four games but this marked their first two-game winning streak since Nov. 21 and 23.

Left winger Joakim Nordstrom scored for Carolina (21-20-8).

Lundqvist made 30 saves for the Rangers. He notched his third victory in three outings against the Hurricanes this season.

Lundqvist allowed two goals or fewer in five straight appearances.

Carolina goalie Eddie Lack, making three consecutive starts for only the second time this season, stopped 28 shots.

New York put up 32 shots, matching the third most faced by Lack this season. The Rangers didn't have a shot on goal in the final eight minutes.

"For the most part, I liked the way we went after them early on," Vigneault said. "I thought we advanced the puck really well."

The Rangers won the last nine matchups with Carolina. It's the first time in franchise history that the Rangers have 19 wins in a 20-game span against the same opponent.

"It's frustrating and we know what our record is against them (recently) and we want to rectify that," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "We made mistakes and they made us pay. Just making mistakes that we can't make. It's a tough hill to climb."

The Rangers had goals by multiple defensemen in the same game for only the third time this season.

If there was a downside for the Rangers, it came with right winger Mats Zuccarello's 11-game points streak vs. Carolina coming to an end.

The Rangers controlled play from the start, helping them build a 4-1 lead through two periods.

"They capitalized on our mistakes and decision-making," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We didn't make many plays for 60 minutes. They established their game early and played with the lead all night."

McDonagh converted for a goal shortly after the Rangers came up empty on a first-period power play. His unassisted tally came on a sharp shot from the left side.

It was McDonagh's sixth goal of the season, but his first in 14 games.

The Rangers kept the pressure on and were rewarded again in the opening period. Yandle darted in from the blue line to take a pass from center Oscar Lindberg, who delivered from behind the net. Yandle has three goals this season, with two coming this month.

New York held a 17-9 edge in shots after the first period.

Nordstrom scored 3:29 into the second period for his first goal in 14 games to put Carolina on the board a night after the Hurricanes failed to score in regulation at Toronto. It was the Hurricanes' first regulation goal in three games because they were shut out Sunday at Pittsburgh.

But Miller scored twice in a two-minute, 10-second span midway through the second period.

Miller's first goal came after he found room among several Hurricanes to launch a shot through some sticks. The second Miller goal came off Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin's turnover for an unassisted goal.

NOTES: The Rangers had LW Daniel Paille, a veteran signed as a free agent on Thursday, in the lineup for the first time. ... Rangers LW Chris Kreider sat out with a neck injury. ... The Rangers sent C Jayson Megna to Hartford of the American Hockey League after he played five games (scoring one goal) since a Jan. 4 recall. ... The Hurricanes planned to use the same lineup as a night earlier in an overtime win at Toronto, but C Riley Nash was a late scratch because of illness. C Brad Malone joined the lineup. ... Carolina had G Daniel Altshuller as the backup after G Cam Ward missed his second game since he was diagnosed with a concussion. ... The Rangers play Sunday at Ottawa. ... This was the first of three consecutive home games for Carolina, which faces the Calgary Flames on Sunday.