Rangers vs. Hurricanes: 3 things to watch for trying to avoid sweep, keep playoff hopes alive
One day after being granted a reprieve and with their playoff hopes still alive — even if just barely — the New York Rangers travel to Raleigh for a must-win game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon at Lenovo Center.
The Rangers (37-35-7) still need to win out in their final three games and need the Montreal Canadiens to lose each of their remaining games in regulation in order for New York to earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. But they still have a pulse thanks to Montreal’s 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Friday night.
The game in Raleigh will be over before the one in Toronto between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs begins Saturday, so the Canadiens will know if the Rangers are still in it by time they take the ice. Can you imagine the pressure on that young Canadiens team if the Rangers defeat the Hurricanes?
But to get there, the Rangers must find a way to defeat the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division. And make no mistake, the Hurricanes would love to end the Rangers’ season after what happened in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring.
The Rangers kept their playoff hopes alive and ended a three-game losing streak by mauling the Islanders 9-2 at UBS Arena on Thursday. They had seven different goal-scorers, 11 players recorded at least one point and 10 skaters had a multiple-point outing.
Not to be overshadowed was Igor Shesterkin, who was brilliant with 44 saves, including 19 on 20 shots in the second period. His outstanding play masked some of the Rangers’ deficiencies in their own end. Even in a 9-2 victory, defensive breakdowns were a constant theme for the Rangers on Thursday.
The Hurricanes return home after a winless four-game road trip (0-3-1). Despite a Seth Jarvis goal late in the third period that forced overtime, the Hurricanes closed their trip with a 5-4 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Outscored 18-8 and shut out once on the trip, the Hurricanes are happy to be back at Lenovo Center, where they have the best home record in the Eastern Conference this season (30-8-1). Carolina has won eight of its past nine games on home ice.
This is the fourth and final meeting between the division rivals this season. The Hurricanes are going for a sweep of the season series after winning the first three by an aggregate score of 11-4, including a 4-0 shutout at Madison Square Garden in the most recent meeting Jan. 28.
Related: NHL insider speculates Rangers will fire Peter Laviolette, keep Chris Drury
3 things to watch for when Rangers visit Hurricanes
1. Goals galore
In their past four periods of play, the Rangers have scored 12 goals. In their past two games, the total is 14. Yes, we know the Rangers still lost one of those games, but the point is their offense has come to life again.
Seven different skaters found the back of the net against the Islanders (10 in the past four periods). Scoring was so contagious that even Alexis Lafreniere potted one after scoring just twice in the previous 26 games. And shock of shocks — the Rangers even scored a power-play goal, just their fourth in the past 50 opportunities.
Since Jan. 2, the Rangers have scored 142 goals, fourth-most in the NHL. They’ve scored four goals or more 21 times in that span, tied for second in the League. After finishing seventh in the NHL last season averaging 3.39 goals per game, the Rangers are 12th this season (3.08).
2. Panarin’s push
Artemi Panarin scored two more goals and had three points in the win against the Islanders to continue his heater down the stretch. The 33-year-old is finishing strong with 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in 20 games since March 2.
Bread scored his 300th NHL goal in the loss to the Flyers on Wednesday. He is three goals shy of his second 40-goal season and three points away from his fourth straight 90-point campaign and fifth of his career.
Panarin’s moved into a tie for 11th in the NHL scoring race with 87 points, one behind Jesper Bratt of the New Jersey Devils.
3. That would be Cool
Will Cuylle played a powerful game against the Islanders. He was flying on a line with Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller, scoring his 19th goal and adding an assist to go along with eight shot attempts, five hits and three blocked shots.
The 23-year-old needs one goal to reach 20 for the first time in the NHL. He’s fourth in the League and already broke the Rangers record with 295 hits, just five shy of a nice round number — 300.
Cuylle has been an outlier on this disappointing team. The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award winner continues to exceed expectations.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Trocheck – Brodzinski
Cuylle – J.T. Miller – Zibanejad
Kreider – Parssinen – Lafreniere
Berard – Carrick –Rempe
Soucy – Fox
Miller – Borgen
Vaakanainen – Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Rangers vs. Hurricanes: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes
When: Saturday, April 12 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Lenovo Center
How to watch: ABC
More About:New York Rangers News