Rangers vs. Hurricanes: 3 things to watch for closing out successful month of January

NHL: Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers
Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

A successful and resurgent month of January comes to a close for the New York Rangers on Tuesday, when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers are 8-2-3 this month, after a 5-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, when they allowed the Avalanche to score the winning goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Stuck in a crowded playoff race in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers sure could’ve used that point or two Sunday.

But that they are even in the playoff hunt after a 4-15-0 freefall to close out 2024 is a major plus. The Rangers (24-21-4) enter Tuesday tied for 12th in the conference, three points out of the second wild card and four points out of the top wild card.

The Hurricanes (30-16-4) are second in the Metropolitan Division, 12 points up on the Rangers. They’re on a five-game point streak (4-0-1) and 8-3-3 in the month of January. Oh, and they just added Mikko Rantanen in a massive trade with the Avalanche.

New York has dropped the first two-games of its season series with Carolina, a 4-3 loss on Thanksgiving Eve in Raleigh and 3-1 at MSG on Dec. 22. Of course, those two games took place when the Rangers were mired in their dismal stretch of play.

Let’s see how the match up Tuesday.

Related: NHL insider explains why ‘Miller thing’ makes Will Borgen so valuable to Rangers

3 things to watch for when Rangers host Hurricanes

NHL: Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

1. Latest bright star in division visits MSG

They say all the biggest stars want to shine brightest at The World’s Most Famous Arena. Well, Rantanen gets his chance Tuesday, after he thought he’d have that opportunity Sunday. Rantanen was headed to MSG no matter what this week, but his appearance was delayed two days because he was traded from the Avalanche, who played here Sunday, to the Hurricanes, coincidentally in New York on Tuesday.

That’s just the backstory. What’s important here is that the Hurricanes landed a superstar player — a two-time 100-point scorer — to join an already talented lineup. With no guarantee they’ll be able to sign the pending unrestricted free agent after the season, it’s clear the Hurricanes are going for it, trying to win the Stanley Cup this season. It’s not dissimilar to when they traded for Jake Guentzel ahead of the deadline last season. That didn’t work out as planned, since the Rangers upended the Hurricanes in six games in the Eastern Conference Second Round.

Rantanen is sixth in the NHL with 64 points and tied for 10th with 39 assists. The 2022 Stanley Cup champion is a stud and now super motivated since he felt betrayed and blindsided by this trade. All eyes will be on Rantanen at The Garden on Tuesday.

2. Standing tall when short-handed

The Rangers and Hurricanes are two of the best penalty killing teams in the NHL. In fact, Carolina is No. 1 in the League (85.7 percent) and has allowed one power-play goal in the past eight games. New York is fourth (83.7 percent) and has surrendered three power-play goals in the past nine games.

Each team is lethal offensively short-handed too. The Rangers are second in the NHL with 8 short-handed goals, led by Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith who each have two. The Hurricanes have five shorties, with Jordan Staal and Seth Jarvis leading the way with two apiece.

3. Getting back on the horse

The Rangers let at least a point slip away in that loss Sunday to the Avalanche. It’s the fourth time this month (0-1-3) they suffered a painful defeat. Three times they lost in overtime, each after blowing a third-period lead, including twice late in regulation.

Each of the previous three times the Rangers got right back on the horse and didn’t compound things by losing a second consecutive game. In fact, they haven’t lost consecutive games this month, and haven’t done so since dropping four in a row to close out December.

The face an upper-echelon opponent Tuesday, so the Rangers must clear the heads, up their overall level of play to make sure they don’t close out the month with a pair of losses.

New York Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere

Cuylle – Zibanejad – Smith

Kreider – Chytil – Kaliyev

Edstrom – Carrick – Rempe

Lindgren – Fox

Miller – Borgen

Vaakanainen – Schneider

Shesterkin

Quick

Rangers vs. Hurricanes: When, where, what time, how to watch

Who: New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes

When: Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

Jim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of ... More about Jim Cerny
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