2024-25 Regular Season, Game 79 Preview: Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

The Carolina Hurricanes finished their four-game trip without a victory but did enough against Washington on Thursday to earn a point and secure home ice advantage over the Devils in the first round. The Canes started on time, getting an early Logan Stankoven goal less than six minutes in. Jackson Blake doubled the advantage after Tom Wilson shoved him into Charlie Lindgren while the puck was under him. The goal was controversial, but it stood as such. The Canes' game started to unravel late in the opening period. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored a late power-play goal, giving Washington momentum heading into the second. In the second period, Dylan Strome added another goal on the power play before Nic Dowd and Wilson scored 38 seconds apart late in the period to give Washington a 4-2 lead. The Canes fought back in the third. Jordan Martinook's wrister from the point eluded traffic, beating a screened Lindgren to pull within one. With Frederik Andersen on the bench, Seth Jarvis batted down Alex Ovechkin's empty-net attempt before finishing a beautiful pass from Sebastian Aho with 1:45 left to tie it. The Canes earned a point and killed a penalty in overtime, but fell in the shootout after Dubois scored the only goal. 

The Opponent: New York Rangers (37-35-7, 81 Points- 5th in the Metropolitan Division)
Last Meeting: The Hurricanes completed the rare Madison Square Garden sweep of the Rangers in late January, shutting them out, 4-0. Andrei Svechnikov got it started less than a minute in, burying a pass from the slot after Jesperi Kotkaniemi created a turnover in the neutral zone. The Rangers thought they had a slam-dunk goal on the power play midway through the second, but Chris Kreider fumbled the pass and allowed Frederik Andersen to kick out his pad to rob him. In the final minute of the period, Svechnikov added his second, finishing a gorgeous pass from Mikko Rantanen. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis provided the insurance within the first three minutes of the third, allowing the group to ease into a shutout victory. Andersen made 22 stops to record his first shutout of the campaign.

Since We Last Met: After winning the President's Trophy last season and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Rangers (likely) going to miss the playoffs this season. After losing at home to the Canes, the Rangers looked like they'd found their groove, winning seven of their next 11 games, but the wheels fell off in early March. Since March 5, the Rangers are 6-9-3 and have been below the playoff line for the entire stretch run. Now, their deficit is insurmountable, leading to their exclusion from the postseason. There hasn't been much to celebrate for the Rags this season, though Artemi Panarin continues to put up points, leading the way in goals (37) and points (87). JT Miller has also been good since being acquired from Vancouver, posting 30 points in 29 games, which is seventh on the team despite joining them in January. Outside of a few breakout performers, the rest of the group has been largely disappointing. Igor Shesterkin has been streaky, and Jonathan Quick goes from hot to cold with the wind. Several of their top stars have failed to match their totals from 2023-24. It has been a disappointing season for the team I predicted to win the division.

Stories of the Night
1. The Rangers Have Nothing to Lose
With getting into the playoffs a long shot for the Rangers, they don't have a ton to lose in their final three games. Throwing caution to the wind, I'm expecting the Rangers to go nuts. They ran the Islanders out of the building on Thursday night, beating them 9-2. The Canes have been spiraling a little over their last four games, but they're back in front of the home crowd this weekend. With Rangers fans certain to be packed into the Lenovo Center, the Canes might be fighting two sets of Rangers on Saturday.

2. Going for a Record
With one win this weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes can tie the franchise record for most home wins in a single season (31, 2005-06). With a back-to-back sweep, they'd set a new mark. While it won't help the team improve their standing, it would be a cool accomplishment for the group. Earning three points would tie that Cup-winning team, while four would surpass them. After a road trip that saw them nearly get shut out (0-3-1), this needs to also be a reset weekend for the group before the playoffs start in a week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2023-24 Regular Season, Game 29: Hurricanes at Detroit Red Wings (Postgame)

After picking up their first win on the road trip on Tuesday night in Ottawa, the Hurricanes looked to finish the road journey with a win in Detroit to build some momentum before heading home. With the Red Wings dealing with injuries and suspensions, the Canes tried to build on their excellent game against the Senators. Meanwhile, Detroit hoped to stay afloat with key contributors out of the lineup.  Scoring Summary 1st Period CAR (4:48)- Jack Drury (4) (assisted by Stefan Noesen (9) & Martin Necas (14)) 2nd Period DET (5:20)- Michael Rasmussen (7) (assisted by Andrew Copp (9) & Jonathan Berggren (2)) CAR (11:49)- Jordan Staal (4) (assisted by Jesper Fast (5) & Brett Pesce (3)) 3rd Period None My Thoughts It's almost unfathomable to look at the Canes' 2-4-0 record on this trip and acknowledge that it's the same mark they had on their first long trip of the season after Opening Night. If you'd told me the Canes had identical records on those two trips without...
Read more

"Old Habits Die Hard:" 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 37: Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets

For the final time in 2024, the Hurricanes hit the ice. For their New Year's Eve battle, they traveled to Columbus for their third meeting of the campaign against the Blue Jackets. With a split through two meetings, the goal was to keep Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski in check to earn two big points before the end of the year. Using Saturday's win over the Devils as a launching point, Sebastian Aho and the top line might have something special in store to ring in the New Year. Scoring Summary 1st Period CBJ (4:48)- Kirill Marchenko (15) (Sean Monahan (21) & Denton Mateychuk (1)) CAR (9:59)- Ty Smith (1) PP (Sebastian Aho (27) & Martin Necas (31)) CBJ (15:43)- Kirill Marchenko (16) (Dmitri Voronkov (11) & Sean Monahan (22)) 2nd Period CAR (5:47)- Jack Roslovic (17) (Seth Jarvis (16) & Sebastian Aho (28)) CAR (8:18)- Jesperi Kotkaniemi (6) (Eric Robinson (11)) 3rd Period CBJ (4:58)- Dmitri Voronkov (13) PP (Sean Monahan (23) & Zach Werenski (29)) Overtime N...
Read more

2024-25 Regular Season, Game 3 Preview: Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins

The Hurricanes found their way into the win column on Tuesday night, beating the Devils 4-2 for their first victory of the season. After allowing a goal to Jack Hughes early in the second period, the Hurricanes scored three unanswered. Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere put the Canes ahead through 40 minutes before Jackson Blake redirected a shot midway through the third period for his first NHL goal. Nico Hischier scored during a 5-on-3, but Sebastian Aho iced the game late into the empty net to secure the victory. Pyotr Kochetkov earned the win, outdueling Jacob Markstrom by making 24 stops. The Hurricanes now embark on a six-game journey as the State Fair rolls into town. The first stop on the trip will be their lone meeting with a conference opponent. The Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-0, 6 Points This Season) Not much about the Pittsburgh Penguins changed during the offseason. Reilly Smith is the most notable addition to the team, but they are largely the same team they have ...
Read more