2024-25 Regular Season, Game 22 Preview: Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

The Carolina Hurricanes returned from the road on Monday night to provide some fireworks for the home crowd at the Lenovo Center. The Canes fell behind almost immediately, allowing a goal to Tyler Seguin 18 seconds into the game. Seth Jarvis, making his return after seven games, responded with a short-handed goal early in the frame, but Thomas Harley put the Stars back ahead midway through after being left all alone. Jackson Blake hit the post in the second period and Dallas took it the other way to extend their lead to 3-1 on Mason Marchment's goal. The third period proved to be a different game altogether. Sebastian Aho scored shortly after the Canes killed a penalty, Brent Burns snapped home his first goal of the season, and Shayne Gostisbehere gave the Canes their first lead on the power play within the first nine minutes of the third, bringing life to a previously silent arena. Things couldn't be that simple though as Miro Heiskanen scored with just over five minutes left to tie the game. The Canes earned another late power play, getting some pinball luck to take the lead, again. Martin Necas was trying to find Aho on the backdoor. Instead, his pass hit Ilya Lybushkin's skate, hit Jake Oettinger's skate, and flew into the net to put the Canes back in front late. Andrei Svechnikov put it away for good with an empty-net goal to seal the 6-4 win. Aho finished the night with a goal and three assists, Jarvis added a goal and two helpers, and Gostisbehere and Necas had two points each in the win.

The Opponent: New York Rangers (12-7-1, 25 Points, 4th in the Metropolitan Division)

The New York Rangers fought off the Hurricanes until the bitter end to take home the division title and the President's Trophy last season. While they didn't earn any hardware, the Rangers had players sniffing the Top 3 for the Hart (Panarin- 5th- 49-71-120), Norris (Fox- 4th- 17-56-73), and Vezina (Shesterkin- 4th- 36-17-2/2.58/.912). They came up short in the Eastern Conference Finals, losing in six games to eventual champions Florida. The start to their season was good, but their recent play has been far less inspiring. The Rangers have lost three straight games, including 5-2 on Monday night at home to the Blues. They've been outscored 14-6 in their three losses, including a lopsided 6-2 loss to Edmonton to finish their road trip. Artemi Panarin continues to be their most dangerous forward, leading the team with 12 goals and 26 points. Adam Fox is still lethal defensively, posting 17 assists while waiting for his first goal. Will Cuylle (9-8-17) and Alex Lafreniere (8-8-16) are also playing very well. Igor Shesterkin is still making stops, but he's allowing a lot of goals, too. Jonathan Quick has been good in his five starts, picking up two shutouts. I'm not quite sure what the problem with the Rangers is. They have one of the most talented rosters in the league, and, arguably, the best in the division. There are rumblings that they're looking to shake things up, with Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider at the center of the rumors. I don't take much stock in them yet, but it might start getting more serious if they keep going in their current direction.

Last Season's Meetings: The Rangers won two of the three meetings during the regular season. They met early in the season at Madison Square Garden in a tight battle. Chris Kreider and Seth Jarvis traded power-play goals in the first period, where the tie would remain until Will Cuylle scored midway through the third to break the tie. Igor Shesterkin closed the door the rest of the way as the Rangers held on for a 2-1 victory. The Canes returned to MSG for their first game of 2024 and ran roughshod on the Rangers. Jack Drury and Andrei Svechnikov scored on the power play in the first. Kreider cut into the deficit, but Jordan Martinook immediately responded. Jalen Chatfield snapped one home and Svechnikov scored his second of the night early in the third before Michael Bunting put the icing on the cake in a 6-1 victory. The goals were harder to come by when New York took over Raleigh in mid-March. Adam fox scored with eight seconds left in the first period, which would be more than enough for Shesterkin. He stopped all 28 shots thrown at him in a 1-0 win at PNC Arena.

The two sides would collide in the second round of the postseason for the second time in three seasons. The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 series lead with a trio of one-goal victories, including a pair of extra-time decisions in Games 2 and 3. The Canes staved off the sweep in Game 4 on a late Brady Skjei power-play goal, and extended the series again in Game 5 by dominating the third period at Madison Square Garden. They looked well on their way to forcing Game 7 by taking an early 3-1 lead in Game 6, but Chris Kreider's natural hat trick in the third period helped the Rangers finish the job.

Stories of the Night

1. This Isn't a True Home Game

Death. Taxes. New York Rangers fans in Raleigh. Those are three unfortunate certainties in life. The Lenovo Center will be packed to the rafters on Wednesday night, but the opposing side is going to be a vocal majority throughout the contest. Transplants are always taking over when the northern teams come to town. There's no point in complaining about it because it's going to happen. The Canes' home ice advantage will be tested, and so will the home fans. The Caniacs will be loud, too, hopefully drowning out the riff raff in an effort to win their ninth straight at home.

2. Whose Stars Will Be Better?

When these two get together, it's almost always a battle of whose stars can get their team going quicker and more frequently. There is no shortage of star power on either side, so who is going to be the guy to light the fire? It always feels like you can count on Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad to contribute for the Rangers. Can Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas meet the challenge and get pucks past whichever goalie New York throws at them?

3. Which Version of Each Goalie Will We Get?

If I were a betting man, I'd assume that Spencer Martin and Igor Shesterkin will be in the crease for their respective teams. Martin hasn't put up incredible numbers, but the Canes have points during three of his five appearances this season. His line against the Stars left a lot to be desired, though his third period was spectacular during the comeback. Shesterkin will likely be a thorn in the Canes' side for many years to come. His save percentage looks good, but his GAA is hovering near 3.00 and he has allowed the seventh-most goals this season. Part of it is how often he plays and the team in front of him is part of it, too.