Rangers vs. Hurricanes: Lineups, storylines as Adam Fox not ready to return
Despite hopes that Adam Fox would return to the New York Rangers lineup Monday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes, that won’t be the case. Coach Mike Sullivan confirmed after the morning skate that the star defenseman remains out, to miss his 14th consecutive game.
Fox took part in a full practice Sunday, and Sullivan said the 27-year-old was day to day with an upper-body injury that’s kept him out all of December, so far. That raised hopes Fox might make his return for this clash against the Metropolitan Division leaders in Raleigh.
“It’s great. It obviously suggests he’s that much closer,” Sullivan said Sunday. “He was full capacity today, we worked him into the power play. He took full contact. We’ll see how he responds and make decisions.”
With or without Fox, this is an important game for the Rangers (19-17-4), who come off a 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. That was their League-high eighth shutout defeat of the season; no other NHL team has more than four shutout losses. New York enters play the second-lowest scoring team in the League, averaging 2.55 goals per game.
Most frustrating to the Rangers is that they hit the NHL Christmas break after exploding for five third-period goals in a feel-good 7-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Stringing together wins, or even just solid performances, continues to be difficult for the Blueshirts.
The game Monday is their fourth in a stretch of six in a row on the road. They’re 1-2-0 so far, and follow up this week with a New Year’s Eve matinee at the Capitals and then head down to Miami to play the outdoor 2026 NHL Winter Classic against the Florida Panthers on Friday.
The Rangers lead the NHL with 14 road wins and are third with 29 road points. They are seven points behind the Hurricanes in the Metro.
This is the third and final meeting in the season series. Most recently, the Rangers skated to a 4-2 win in Raleigh on Thanksgiving Eve. Pyotr Kochetkov, who’s expected to start in goal for the Hurricanes on Monday, shut out the Rangers 3-0 back on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden.
Igor Shesterkin is the Rangers starting goalie Monday. He stopped 24 of 25 shots against the Islanders (one empty-net goal), the 16th time Shesterkin’s allowed two goals or fewer, tied for second most among NHL goalies.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Hurricanes
1. Sam Carrick game-time decision
The Rangers defense corps should remain intact from what we’ve seen most of the past month with Fox out. That means rookie Scott Morrow again expects to play on the third defense pair, and quarterback the top power-play unit against his former team Monday. He and Fox split those power-play duties at practice Sunday.
This could be Morrow’s last chance to leave the coaches with a solid impression since he’s likely headed back to Hartford of the American Hockey League when Fox returns. Urho Vaakanainen should remain the extra defenseman for the Rangers, who are 6-5-2 without Fox in the lineup.
Veteran center Sam Carrick participated in the optional morning skate after he skipped practice due to an illness Sunday. Sullivan said Carrick is a game-time decision. The 33-year-old, who has one goal, five assists, and a team-high 28 penalty minutes, is one of six players to appear in all 40 games for the Rangers. Forwards Will Cuylle, Alexis Lafreniere, Noah Laba, and defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov and Braden Schneider are the others.
2. No sympathy
You can bet that the Hurricanes have no sympathy for the Rangers, who also remain without injured captain J.T. Miller. Carolina’s played short-handed much of the season, as well, and compensated nicely with a 23-11-3 record, tops in the Eastern Conference.
Carolina’s No. 1 defenseman Jaccob Slavin is back on injured reserve and considered week to week with an upper-body issue. Slavin’s played just five games this season, and was three games into his latest return when he sustained the UBI against the Panthers last week. Seth Jarvis, who leads the Hurricanes with 19 goals, also sustained an upper-body injury in that game against the Panthers and is sidelined week to week.
K’Andre Miller, whom the Rangers traded to the Hurricanes this past offseason, should play Monday after missing a 5-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday with a lower-body injury. Miller’s been in and out of the Carolina lineup all season with several physical issues, but practiced fully Sunday. The 25-year-old averages 22:31 TOI, second most on the Hurricanes, and has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 29 games.
3. Streaking Svechnikov
Andrei Svechnikov has nine points in a five-game point streak for Carolina, picking up some of the offensive slack with Jarvis out with an injury. The 25-year-old forward had three points (one goal, two assists) in the win Saturday against the Red Wings, one of three multi-point games during his point streak.
He also has goals in three straight games after going 13 games without one. Svehcnikov is now up to 10 goals and 27 points in 37 games this season. He’s a five-time 20-goal scorer in the NHL, and has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 23 games against the Rangers.
On the other side, keep your eyes on Mika Zibanejad. The Rangers center has 15 goals and 38 points in 42 games against the Hurricanes.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafreniere
Jonny Brodzinski — Vincent Trocheck — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh
Brennan Othmann — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy — Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson — Scott Morrow
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Hurricanes: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes
When: Monday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Lenovo Center
How to watch: MSG 2
