"The Man Advantage": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 38: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers

It has been a wild day for the Caniacs today. It all began with the team claiming Noah Philp off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, but things quickly devolved from there. The upsetting news surrounded Pyotr Kochetkov, who elected to have season-ending hip surgery after it appeared that he would get the start tonight against the Rangers. The team also announced that Shayne Gostisbehere wouldn't be okay to go as he nurses a groin injury. K'Andre Miller was designated as a game-time decision, though he appeared fine to face his former team tonight. With another game looming tomorrow night, the Canes needed to make the most of tonight's affair against a bitter divisional rival. With the Bus, in the net, there was reason for some pre-game confidence.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NYR (1:39-PP)- Vladislav Gavrikov (7) (Artemi Panarin (25) & Vincent Trocheck (13))

CAR (15:57-PP)- Sebastian Aho (14) (Alexander Nikishin (10) & Nikolaj Ehlers (17))

2nd Period

NYR (13:00)- Jonny Brodzinski (4) (Sam Carrick (6) & Matthew Robertson (5))

3rd Period

CAR (9:11)- Jordan Martinook (6) (Jalen Chatfield (7) & K'Andre Miller (12))

Overtime

CAR (4:47-PP)- Jackson Blake (12) (Sebastian Aho (21) & Nikolaj Ehlers (18))

My Thoughts

Is the power play really back this time? We've been tricked into thinking it's back sooner than it really is, but the power play's timing tonight was impeccable. They capitalized on an early 5-on-3 down by a goal in the first period before providing the winner in overtime to close the night. Sebastian Aho and Nikolaj Ehlers were the constants on the man advantage, recording both of their points with the man advantage. Aho's snipe in the first period was as pure as it gets before Jackson Blake tipped his shot in the waning seconds of overtime. Ehlers added secondary helpers on both goals, giving him three PPAs in four games. Net-front presence was also a major factor in all three goals. Andrei Svechnikov provided the eclipsing screen on Aho's goal, Jordan Martinook won a battle in front to put himself in a spot for the rebound to bounce in off him, and Blake was in front to tip the winning shot. 

We were treated to a very fun goalie battle on Monday night in Raleigh. Each goalie thrilled in different ways. Igor Shesterkin made a few flashy stops, but most importantly, he stopped what he could see, finishing the night with 31 stops. On the other end, there wasn't much flashiness about Brandon Bussi's performance. He was thrown into the lion's den early, with the number of odd-man chances he faced. However, Bussi remained steady. He made the big stops when the moment needed them, keeping his group in the game while they trailed. Once they tied it, the work dried up a little. He only saw 19 shots tonight, yet he was one shot better than Shesterkin tonight, earning him at least one point in his 12th straight game and his 13th win of the campaign.

The defense was dealt a major blow with Shayne Gostisbehere missing the contest with a groin injury, but there were a lot of positives from the defense's performance. Three of the six defenders from the scoresheet tonight, all picking up assists. Alexander Nikishin shook off a tough start to play a team-high 24:17, record an assist on the power play, and lay a few big hits. Jalen Chatfield and K'Andre Miller, who was a game-time decision himself, were the helping parties on the tying goal. The defensive unit recorded 10 shots and six blocks tonight.

Piggybacking off this, the Canes' defense did a marvelous job of making it seem like the Rangers' stars were non-factors tonight. Artemi Panarin is a notorious Canes killer, especially in Raleigh, and while he recorded an assist on the power play, he didn't do anything notable the rest of the night. Vincent Trocheck had the secondary helper on that opening goal, but he finished below 50% in the dot and seemed to have his night thrown into disarray after Nikishin laid him out. Mika Zibanejad had just one shot. Alexis Lafreniere was one of the most noticeable forwards in New York's Top 6. The Rangers' fourth line might've been their most dangerous at 5-on-5, coming up with the go-ahead goal in the second despite hardly playing tonight. That's two games in a row now.

First Star of the Game: Sebastian Aho

Without Seth Jarvis in the lineup, the team has seen several players in the lineup step up. Chief among them has been Sebastian Aho, which is what you need from your best all-around player. After a goal and an assist tonight, Aho has five goals and nine points since snapping his five-game scoreless drought during the Nashville game. Three of those goals have come on the power play. This is the player the Hurricanes expect him to be on a nightly basis.

Next Up: The Canes are heading to Pittsburgh as we speak to play their final game of 2025 against the Penguins. They're in for a gauntlet, of sorts, to begin next year. It starts against Montreal on Thursday night to ring in 2026 before facing the Avalanche, the Devils, and the Stars in a span of four days. It's not getting any easier from there.