"Subway? I'll Take the Bus": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 57: Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers

The Rangers have been in the news quite a bit in the last 24 hours after trading leading scorer Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings. The trade itself was something many knew was coming, even if Los Angeles was a surprising destination to everyone not named Artemi Panarin. What does this mean for tonight's game? Absolutely nothing. Panarin hasn't played in the last few games, so this isn't anything new for them. For the Canes, their sole focus is getting two more points before the Olympic pause and getting their point streak to double digits. They played an okay game on Tuesday against the Senators, so they'll want a big effort today against another division opponent. They can either spend three weeks thinking about a win or stewing on a loss. I'd much rather the former.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (6:26)- Andrei Svechnikov (21) (unassisted)

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

CAR (19:07-EN)- Jordan Staal (15) (Nikolaj Ehlers (29) & Jackson Blake (17))

My Thoughts

You know the best way to keep from blowing a multi-goal lead? Not allowing your opponent to score a goal. If you decided not to watch this game after the opening goal, you missed absolutely nothing. Just two goalies padding their stats a bit. Sometimes, boring is better. The Canes don't need to play an exciting brand of hockey, and the Rangers certainly don't bring much to the table, especially after their best player was traded on Wednesday. New York had one good stretch of this game during their second power play. Mika Zibanejad came the closest to scoring, putting a shot off the crossbar. Other than that, the Rangers did what they do best this season, which is get shut out at home. The Hurricanes handed them a goose egg both times they visited this season, and haven't allowed a goal to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in almost four full games. You love to see it. 

One might classify this as a goalie duel, and I'm leaning towards doing the same, but it was Jonathan Quick doing most of the work. The Canes outshot the Rangers, 43-16. Through two periods, they already had 30 shots, while the Rangers only had ten. Brandon Bussi did not have a very exciting night. He had a few tip saves that were impressive, and he got a shoulder on a Will Cuylle offer late in the game to preserve the shutout. Jonathan Quick finished the night with 41 saves, his most this season. It's a little ironic that both of his 40-save performances this season have resulted in Rangers losses. Not to be that guy, but most of the saves he made tonight were uncontested shots without a ton of traffic. That doesn't make it any less impressive. He was one of the few Rangers who didn't go through the motions to get to the pause. Still, this night should be all about Bussi. He put forth an excellent effort to earn his second shutout of the season.

From top to bottom, everyone positively contributed to the Canes' win tonight, even if they didn't find their way onto the scoresheet. 2/3 of the fourth line was on the ice for the opening goal, with Mark Jankowski forcing Vladislav Gavrikov to turn the puck over. The only member of the trio not on the ice for the goal? William Carrier, who changed so Andrei Svechnikov could hit the ice. Who scored the opening goal? You and I both know the answer to that. Svechnikov unleashed a wicked shot under Quick's glove to get it rolling. The Stankoven line was all around it tonight, but they couldn't buy a goal. Their contribution to the scoring came on the empty-net goal. Jackson Blake earned the secondary helper, tying his assist total from a season ago (17). Nikolaj Ehlers did most of the heavy lifting, forcing the turnover at center ice and finding Jordan Staal for the tap-in. Staal has points in five straight and goals in three straight heading into the break, bringing him to 15 goals for the season. The defense was especially active in the offensive zone, throwing 19 shots on goal. They also aided Bussi in not allowing one, too. 

The Hurricanes didn't fall into the trap that this game was presenting. The Rangers are falling down the standings and selling key pieces. They could've shocked the world by putting in a better effort without their leading scorer to stun the division-leading Hurricanes. Instead, the Canes played a full 60 minutes to earn the shutout win. It was perfection from start to finish. Now, they get to enjoy three weeks before their next game with a ten-game point streak after another division win. Their lead in the division is eight points, putting them in a great spot to stretch their advantage once they return. Honestly, it's about as good as it gets for the Carolina Hurricanes.

First Star of the Game: Brandon Bussi

In front of 40 friends and family members, with his idol Henrik Lundqvist in the building, and against his childhood team in an iconic building, it doesn't get any more perfect than this for Brandon Bussi. Perfect was the theme tonight, stopping 16 of 16 shots to earn the second shutout of his career. He has won seven straight starts to move 20 games above .500 this season (23-3-1). It might not have been the most exciting night, but he'll take this 100 times out of 100. 

Next Up: The Finns kick off the men's hockey tournament on Wednesday against Slovakia, with the Canadians, the Americans, and the Danes following on Thursday. They'll all play three group games before the playoffs begin, which could mean anywhere from one to four more games after that. As for the rest of the team, they won't play again until three weeks from today, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Lenovo Center. They'll finish their February schedule against the Red Wings the following Saturday.