2022-23 Regular Season, Game 52: Hurricanes (34-9-8) v. New York Rangers

I'm not sure why we had to wait this long but hockey is back in Raleighwood after a ten-day layoff. No team enters the backstretch of the season hotter than the Canes as they ride a seven-game win streak and a ten-game point streak into their second meeting of the season with the Rangers. Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns have been streaking personally with a six-game goal streak and a seven-game point streak, respectively. The Canes' last game was on February 1 with a visit to Buffalo. On the heels of a thrilling comeback victory over Los Angeles the night before, there were concerns about the Canes' ability to meet the challenge in the last game before the break. Those worries were quickly shut down. Aho scored 2:35 into the game on the power play to get the Canes sprinting out of the gate. Stefan Noesen would finish a 3-on-1 and Burns would add another goal 2:42 later to make it 3-0. Buffalo got one back late in the period but the Canes held a 3-1 lead at the break. After a scoreless second period, Derek Stepan and Jordan Martinook would provide the insurance markers in a 5-1 thumping of the Sabres. Antti Raanta made 29 saves in the win, extending his personal point streak to 12 games. It was a satisfying way to enter the break. None of that matters now as the Canes begin their second half with a tough test that just got a lot better. 

Projected Lines/Pairs

Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast

Stefan Noesen-Paul Stastny-Derek Stepan

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Antti Raanta

Injuries/Scratches- Dylan Coghlan (healthy)

IR- Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (LTIR- concussion)

It looks like the gang will be back together as Jaccob Slavin is primed to play after missing the last six games before the break. He'll be reunited with Brent Burns, while Jalen Chatfield, who was excellent in Slavin's place, will be back with Calvin de Haan. Dylan Coghlan will be the healthy extra. The forward groups will remain the same as they have during this hot run as Jesper Fast plays in his 600th game. Frederik Andersen gets the start in the net. He played in the penultimate game before the break, a 5-4 overtime victory for the Canes over the Kings. 

Tonight's Opponent: New York Rangers (30-14-8, 68 Points, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division)

While tonight is the Canes' first game after the break, this will be the Rangers' fourth. They've come out of the break on fire, winning all three of their games, including a 6-3 victory over Seattle last night at Madison Square Garden. They got out of the blocks quickly with the newest addition to the team, Vladimir Taraenko, scoring 2:49 into his first game as a Ranger. It would help pace a three-goal first period for the Rangers with goals from Kaapo Kakko and Vincent Trocheck rounding out the scoring. Jacob Trouba scored on the power play early in the second period before Seattle was able to get one back. Mika Zobanejad added New York's second goal on the power play to push the advantage to 5-1 early in the third. Seattle scored twice in 22 seconds to bring the deficit back down to two goals but it wouldn't be enough to spark a comeback as Ryan Lindgren scored his first of the season short-handed to cement the victory. Trocheck, Kakko, Lindgren, and Chris Kreider all finished with multi-point nights and Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 shots in the win. The Rangers are on a few streaks of their own, winning four in a row and picking up points in six straight. They're still eight points back of the Canes for first in the division and the Canes have a game in hand with two more meetings this season. 

Last Meeting v. Carolina- This isn't the first time that the Canes entered a meeting with the Rangers with a long win streak. When they met in New York on January 3, the Canes had won 11 in a row and were on a 17-game point streak. They got off to a great start with Burns scoring just under seven and a half minutes in. Jacob Trouba responded on the power play to tie it before Martin Necas scored 16 seconds later to give the Canes a 2-1 lead after one. The score would remain that way until Mika Zibanejad snuck a shot through Pyotr Kochetkov, once again on the power play. Just like the first time, the Canes responded quickly with Jalen Chatfield giving the Canes the lead 29 seconds later as the Canes went into the break leading once again. The third period was all New York. Artemi Panarun tied the game early in the period, K'Andre Miller gave the Rangers the lead just past the midway point, and Filip Chytil scored the dagger into the empty net on the power play to break the Canes' streaks. Igor Shesterkin only needed to make 20 saves to get the job done. 

New York's Starting Goalie: Jaroslav Halak (7-6-1, 2.66 GAA, .905 SV%)- With Shesterkin earning the win last night, the Rangers will turn to their backup tonight. After just one win in his first eight starts, Halak has won his last six, including a 5-4 victory over the Flames on Monday in their first game back from the break. Before allowing four goals to the Flames, he'd only allowed three goals in his last three starts. This will be Halak's 15th appearance against the Canes, going 6-6-1 with two shutouts. He hasn't faced the Canes since 2019 when he was with the Bruins, pitching a 24-save shutout in a 2-1 victory for Boston. He's won his last three starts against the Canes.  

New York Player to Watch: Vladimir Tarasenko- After making a major move to acquire a goalscorer, he obviously is going to be my player to watch. With his time in St. Louis coming to an end, Tarasenko scored in his first game as a Ranger, opening the scoring against the Kraken. It broke a six-game goalless drought for the sniper. Tarasenko had two assists with the Blues when the Canes visited them in December. His acquisition is a clear sign that the Rangers are going for it and now the Canes need to respond. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(NYR) 13:37- Mika Zibanejad (27) PP (assisted by Chris Kreider (15) & Artemi Panarin (43))

2nd Period

(CAR) 6:50- Teuvo Teravainen (6) (unassisted)

(CAR) 9:43- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (8) (assisted by Calvin de Haan (8) & Andrei Svechnikov (24))

(NYR) 17:49- Artemi Panarin (13) (assisted by Vincent Trocheck (23) & Jimmy Vesey (10))

3rd Period

(NYR) 4:33- Artemi Panarin (14) (assisted by Braeden Schneider (9) & Vincent Trocheck (24))

(NYR) 15:59- Artemi Panarin (15) (unassisted)

(NYR) 17:46- Kaako Kakko (11) EN (assisted by Alexis Lafreniere (18) & Jacob Trouba (14))

(NYR) 18:56- Artemi Panarin (16) (assisted by Jimmy Vesey (11))

Let's Talk About the Game

I hate the Rangers. I hate playing the Rangers. I hate the Rangers fans. I hate everything about them as an organization. I hate them but I respect them because they are talented. This game, despite finishing 6-2, was not that far apart for most of the night. In fact, the Canes controlled play for the majority of the first 40 minutes. They held the Rangers shotless for a long time in the second period. The difference was, once again, the third period. In two games this season, the Rangers have outscored the Canes 7-0. After all of the miraculous third periods we saw from the Canes before the break, they didn't have that same magic tonight. I don't have the energy to talk about every goal in depth because reliving that finish might just kill me. 

As I said, the Canes controlled most of the first two periods. The Rangers had a strong start with Frederik Andersen making some great saves on a few excellent chances. It wasn't until the Rangers earned their first, and only, power play of the night that they found some magic. Mike Zibanejad lifted a rebound chance over the pad of Andersen to get the Rangers the lone goal of the first period in the final seven minutes. The Canes built a strong second period and it would result in them finally finding the scoreboard. First, Teuvo Teravainen spun and fired a shot at Jaroslav Halak that got some help from K'Andre Miller's skate as the Canes tied it up. Just about three minutes later, Jesperi Kotkaniemi's persistence paid off as he was denied on an initial chance before getting a backhand past the sprawling mitt of Halak to get the Canes out front. 

From there, this game became the Artemi Panarin Show. He capitalized on a turnover at the end of the second period to knot the game at two heading into the break. He would finish the night with four goals, finishing the hat trick on a breakaway and adding insult to injury with a fourth after the Rangers got the empty-net goal. His line with Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey terrorized the Canes in the third period. That line alone combined for nine points with Panarin getting five of them. Halak deserves some credit because he made the biggest save of the night on Sebastian Aho's breakaway chance when the game was still 3-2. If he scores there, this game might've looked completely different. 

This loss stinks but the silver lining is that this was just the tenth regulation loss of the season in 52 games. It doesn't feel great with the Devils and Rangers both making up some ground by playing a few games this week and not seeming to ever lose. The Rangers started the week 14 points behind the Canes. Now, they're only six back. The Devils are currently winning and will be just two points back if that result holds. The Eastern Conference is absolutely loaded with six teams at 70 points or more. This just felt like the Canes coming back from the break and playing a team that had their legs under them, even after playing last night. I wouldn't read into this game much, even if it sucks to lose to the Rangers. The team didn't do Andersen any favors and it showed with Panarin running the Canes' show. They'll have a few days to think about it before they start one of the biggest weeks in franchise history. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Calvin de Haan (Assist)

On a night where the Canes' defense didn't have a great night, it was solid on the scoresheet for the third pair. de Haan played over 15 minutes tonight and did a little bit of everything. He reached ten points with the primary assist on the Kotkaniemi goal. He also had two hits and a block to go along with a solid defensive night. 

Second Star- Andrei Svechnikov (Assist)

His goalless drought extends another game but he still is finding ways to get the offense going. He recorded his ninth assist in the last 11 games and looked like he was on the verge of breaking through. He also stepped up with his body by tying for the team lead in hits with five. He's going to score soon. I just have a feeling it's coming against Washington on Tuesday. 

First Star- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Goal)

With his goal tonight, Kotkaniemi has points in three straight games and five in his last five games. He broke a goalless drought of his own tonight, scoring his first goal in ten games. It was a hard-working goal too, forcing home a rebound after a strong initial save. He also blocked a shot and recorded a hit to go along with his three shots. 

What's Next

It's a big week for the franchise as all roads lead to next Saturday night. Before we can get there, the Canes will head to Washington D.C. to face the Capitals for the second time this season. Washington defeated Boston today 2-1 behind a magnificent performance from Darcy Kuemper. They'll host the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night before welcoming the Canes. The festivities really begin on Thursday night as the Canes host the Montreal Canadiens with Cam Ward being inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. This all culminates with the Canes and Capitals concluding their season series outdoors at Carter-Finley Stadium a week from tonight with all eyes on Raleigh. It's one of the biggest games the franchise has ever been a part of and it will be a showcase of North Carolina as a hockey market. We still have a few games to get to before we get to celebrate.