"More Famine than Feast": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 23: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

Before the Carolina Hurricanes could enjoy the spoils of Thanksgiving on Thursday, they had to deal with another division opponent, the New York Rangers. The good news was that it was on home ice, so the team won't have to worry about traveling for their holiday festivities. After a poor effort in Buffalo and with an illness and injuries causing uncertainty throughout the lineup, the Canes settled in to begin a seven-game homestand on Wednesday night. The Rangers have been on a roller coaster ride this season, going on long stretches of winning and losing during the first quarter of the season. With the holiday signaling the first big one of the regular season, heading into the day with a win would be nice for the team and the fans alike.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NYR (16:53)- Noah Laba (4) (Taylor Raddysh (2) & Matthew Robertson (1))

2nd Period

CAR (5:04-PP)- Shayne Gostisbehere (3) (Sebastian Aho (14) & Nikolaj Ehlers (11))

NYR (18:56)- Artemi Panarin (7) (Adam Fox (19) & JT Miller (7))

3rd Period

NYR (0:45)- Vincent Trocheck (5) & Artemi Panarin (15) & Mika Zibanejad (9))

CAR (10:53)- Seth Jarvis (12) (Shayns Gostisbehere (13) & Sebastian Aho (15))

NYR (18:17-EN) Will Cuylle (7) (unassisted) 

My Thoughts

Each game has moments that you look at and point to as turning points. Tonight, the difference in the game was Artemi Panarin's goal with 1:04 left in the second period. It was a perfect storm. Tied at one and playing their best period of the night, Sebastian Aho gets booted from the circle, bringing Andrei Svechnikov in to face Vincent Trocheck. He loses the draw, JT Miller slides the puck to Adam Fox, and he puts it perfectly on Panarin's tape for the one-timer. Shayne Gostisbehere was a hair late to Panarin. Otherwise, it's probably blocked and becomes a non-factor. That moment was the difference between the Canes starting the 3rd period tied at one or down 2-1. We don't even have to mention Trocheck scoring 45 seconds into the 3rd to make it a two-goal game. It felt like the backbreaker when it happened, and it turned out to be.

Gostisbehere has been on the ice for seven of the team's last eight goals against. That's not a good stat. However, he's had a hand in all three goals the Hurricanes have scored, too. That's a better stat. For his shortcomings on the defensive end, he's trying to make up for it on the scoresheet. He had two points tonight, scoring on the power play for the second game in a row to tie it in the second and making a sweet play to set up Seth Jarvis in the third, pulling the group to within one. He now has 16 points in 14 games, and points in three of his last four (2G, 2A). The power play now has goals in three straight games, too, which isn't a small thing considering how poorly it has performed this season. If he hadn't missed nine games, he'd probably already be past 20 points, giving us a legitimate contender for the Norris Trophy. 

This isn't a game that I hang on Frederik Andersen. The "he doesn't make timely saves" crowd will have plenty to work with. The three goals he allowed were a pair of defensive breakdowns and a lost draw. Sure, you'd always love to see him make a save on one of them, either Panarin's or Trocheck's. The problems are only amplified when looking at what Igor Shesterkin did. He made more than twice the number of saves that Andersen did (36-14), and he made it look pretty easy. It's a constant struggle during his starts in November. He has been outplayed in pretty much every start since the start of the month. It's what makes the bad nights feel even worse. It needs to get better, and we can't simply wish for Pyotr Kochetkov to be healed. 

There's that saying in football that if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none. For the Hurricanes, they have three goalies on the roster, and yet each comes with perceived baggage. Andersen hasn't been sharp. Kochetkov has been great, but he can't stay healthy. Brandon Bussi is inexperienced, and, even with the number of good performances he has put forth, the team hasn't shown enough confidence in him to put him out there on a regular basis since Kochetkov returned from his season-opening injury. He played three times on the State Fair trip. He has only played three times since then. It's worth mentioning that all three were victories, too. Is the answer internal? Or will the team try to look externally? I have no clue what that would even look like. I don't think the front office does either.

First Star of the Game: Shayne Gostisbehere

His four goals against notwithstanding, Shayne Gostisbehere is feeling it offensively at the moment. He's dragging the power play into the fight, and he made a great play to set up Seth Jarvis. The Canes played better tonight than on Sunday, and Gostisbehere was right in the middle of it.

Next Up: The Canes host the Winnipeg Jets on Black Friday after knocking them off in Winnipeg last Friday night. They'll finish November against the Flames before not playing again until next Thursday when they host the Maple Leafs.