2025-26 Regular Season, Game 57 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes extended their point streak to nine games on Tuesday night, knocking off the red-hot Ottawa Senators. The visitors struck first in the opening minutes. Stephen Halliday redirected a shot from Jordan Spence under Brandon Bussi's glove to kick off the scoring. Late in the period, Sebastian Aho earned a bounce. His shot redirected past James Reimer with the help of Jake Sanderson's skate to knot it up. They took the lead in the second period, scoring on the power play. The top unit needed just six seconds to convert, coming when Seth Jarvis snapped one over Reimer's shoulder to take the lead. Jarvis got another just over three minutes later. After Bussi kicked out Drake Batherson's chance, Aho sprung Jarvis the other way, powering past Sanderson and chipping it into the net to double the Canes' advantage. Ottawa's power play scored twice to tie it. Tim Stutzle buried a one-timer late in the second, and Sanderson blasted another home early in the third to tie it. Late in regulation, Nikolaj Ehlers caught the Senators in the middle of a change, springing Jordan Staal on a breakaway. The captain picked the corner on Reimer to put the team ahead. Bussi shut the door from there, earning his 22nd win in a 4-3 triumph over the Senators.

Injury Report

Eric Robinson: Shoulder. Still out. Maybe he'll be good to go after the break.

The Opponent: New York Rangers (22-28-6, 50 Points; 8th in the Metropolitan Division)

Last Meeting: The Canes welcomed the Rangers to town for their final home game of 2025. The sides traded goals on the power play in the opening frame. Vladislav Gavrikov scored 99 seconds into the game, and Sebastian Aho got it back late in the period. Jonny Brodzinski capitalized on some friendly bounces to pot a tap-in during the second period to restore the Rangers' lead, but Jordan Martinook tied it midway through the third, sending the game to overtime. In the dying seconds of overtime, with the Hurricanes on the power play, Jackson Blake scored his first-career overtime winner, redirecting Aho's shot through Igor Shesterkin's pads to claim a 3-2 victory. Shesterkin was phenomenal, stopping 32 shots, but multi-point efforts from Aho and Nikolaj Ehlers proved too powerful for the Rangers on that night.

Since We Last Met: The New York Rangers are in a freefall right now. As they drop further and further behind the rest of the division and the conference, General Manager Chris Drury signaled that a retool is coming, and they've already started moving and resting players. Carson Soucy was traded to the Islanders in January, and leading scorer Artemi Panarin had been held out before they finally agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for Liam Greentree and a conditional 3rd-round pick. Since losing in Raleigh late in December, the Rangers are 3-11-1 in their last 15 games, including having 10 goals dropped on them by the Bruins on January 10. It has dropped them into the heart of the race for the top pick in the draft as the only team in the Eastern Conference below .500. Injuries haven't helped matters. Adam Fox hasn't played since January 5. Neither has Igor Shesterkin. With the season lost, the Rangers appear to be in complete tank mode, whether they'll admit it or not. They should be active at the trade deadline as sellers at the trade deadline, though they might not be super aggressive to avoid a complete rebuild. There are still a few bright spots. During this 15-game stretch, their power play is operating at 33.3 percent. They're 10th in the league this season overall. Otherwise, there isn't a ton to love about where the Rangers are right now. It doesn't mean the Canes need to be complacent at Madison Square Garden. 

Stories to Watch

1. Final tune-up for the Olympians

Seven players in today's game will participate in the Winter Games beginning next week, four from the Hurricanes and three from the Rangers. In the case of Jaccob Slavin, he'll be teammates with JT Miller and Vincent Trocheck in due time. All seven will want to head to Italy on the right foot, or six, if Andersen doesn't play. I'm sure there will still be plenty of intensity between the division rivals, regardless of where each currently resides in the standings.

2. Get it to 10

The Canes enter Madison Square Garden on a nine-game point streak, their longest of the season by a good amount. While it's still far too early to think about the team challenging the franchise record (17), it would be nice to get it to double digits before pausing for three weeks. It'll be much more palatable to sit on a win for that time than stewing on a loss. They're pulling away, momentarily, in the division, while the Rangers are falling in the opposite direction. Take advantage of their misfortune to end it on a high note.