2025-26 Regular Season, Game 38 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes returned from the Christmas break with a stellar effort against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. While they were the far better team in the first period, the Wings capitalized on their smallest mistake. A flubbed pass ended with Michael Rasmussen sliding it through Brandon Bussi's five-hole to open the scoring. After being handled in the first period, the Canes' offense came to life in the second. Jackson Blake redirected a shot early in the frame, and Eric Robinson buried one for the third straight game 75 seconds later. Shayne Gostisbehere sniped a shot top shelf on John Gibson late in the frame, extending the Canes' lead to 3-1 after two periods. Andrew Copp scored on the power play early in the third, but the two-goal lead wouldn't be blown this time. Andrei Svechnikov capitalized on Dylan Larkin slipping in the slot, snapping it home to restore their two-goal advantage. Jordan Martinook finished it off, scoring his 100th career goal into an empty net, securing a 5-2 win. Svechnikov and Gostisbehere each recorded a goal and two assists, and Brandon Bussi stopped 18 shots to improve to 12-1-1 on the season.

Injury Report
K'Andre Miller: He skated on Sunday at practice after missing the Detroit contest, so I'm taking it as a positive sign that he should be good for Monday. 
Seth Jarvis: The one-word answer surrounding his closeness to returning doesn't give much of a positive indication that he's anywhere close.  
Jaccob Slavin: We don't even know whether he's close or not, so I'm choosing to believe that we won't see him soon.

The Opponent: New York Rangers (19-17-4, 42 Points; 6th in the Metropolitan Division)
Last Meeting: The Rangers visited Raleigh the night before Thanksgiving, handing the Canes a 4-2 loss. Noah Laba got it going with a goal late in the first period, but Shayne Gostisbehere responded with a goal on the power play to tie it early in the second. Things were rolling in the right direction until Artemi Panarin buried a one-timer from the left dot with 1:04 left in the middle frame to regain their lead. Former Hurricane Vincent Trocheck doubled the lead just 45 seconds into the third, completely turning the game on its head. Seth Jarvis tried to help his team back into the fight by shrinking the lead to one, but they couldn't complete the comeback. Will Cuylle scored into the empty net to finish the road victory for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin made 36 stops in the victory.

Since We Last Met: They managed to stay above .500 since beating the Canes in Raleigh, but the Rangers remain trapped in a war in the Eastern Conference that they can't seem to come out on the other side of. They're 7-6-2 in their last 15 games, and they continue to struggle to find traction on home ice. However, the Rangers are still one of the league's best on the road at 14-7-1. Raleigh is the fourth stop on a six-game expedition for them, during which they're only 1-2-0. They were shut out, 2-0, by the Islanders on Saturday. The Rangers are working through some injuries to a few important players. Adam Fox hasn't played since November 29, and while he's practicing with the team, he doesn't appear to be in line to return on Monday. JT Miller has been out for the last week and is labeled as "week-to-week", so the Rangers captain also won't be in the lineup tonight. Artemi Panarin has helped pick up the slack, recording 18 points in 15 games, going back to his multi-point performance against the Canes. Igor Shesterkin is the league's busiest goalie this season, facing and stopping the most shots in the NHL in a league-best 31 games played. 

Stories to Watch
1. Start stringing wins together again
After three straight losses, the Canes got it back together against Detroit on Saturday. They avoided the major collapse in the third period after giving up an early goal, and I attribute some of that to Martinook and Carrier returning to the lineup. I think the days off also allowed them to release some of that stress and get them back on their game. With the group getting back in the win column, it would be nice to see them gather a little more momentum to add some distance between them and the rest of the division.

2. Keep the emotions in check
These two teams don't like each other. Like with the Panthers, the Hurricanes have been bested too many times in the postseason, so it feels like there is still something to prove whenever they play them. Of course, there are some good moments and some bad moments. After what they did to the Canes before Thanksgiving, the home team should be motivated to earn two more points. This means that they need to be in control of their emotions and not allow the Rangers to get under their skin. I'm looking at you, Andrei.

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