Game Day: Hurricanes at Rangers 10-16-14

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers
October 16, 2014 - 7:00 pm ET
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - Blueshirt Banter

Fancy Stats

Game Notes

• The State Fair is in town, which means the Hurricanes aren't. This year's State Fair road trip is a little unique in that the team starts out making a quick trip up to New York and back. They'll return home tonight, host a couple of season ticket holder events, grab some deep fried Twinx at the fair, and then set out on Monday for the full journey west.
• Jeff Skinner "could" be making his season debut tonight after suffering a concussion during the preseason. Skinner has been making great progress with his recovery and skated with the team yesterday in a regular (not a no-contact) jersey. He will be evaluated today after the morning skate to determine if he is ready to return.
• Is Andrej Sekera a cyborg? Miraculously, his scary tumble into the boards on Tuesday night seems to be nothing more serious than some extreme soreness. He didn't practice yesterday but wasn't ruled out for a return tonight.
• John-Michael Liles suffered an undisclosed injury at the end of Tuesday's game and didn't practice yesterday either. He'll be a game-time decision as well, opening the door for Brett Bellemore's possible season debut on defense.
• Brody Sutter (aka "The Butter") was called up from the Charlotte Checkers yesterday and could make his NHL debut tonight.
• Line-ups are posted as of yesterday's practice but there will likely be adjustments at today's morning skate so updates will be forthcoming.
• It's always cool to type the words "Madison Square Garden" in the game day article even if Canes vs. Rangers isn't often a fun experience for the players wearing the sightless eye. The last time these two teams met was on March 11^th of this past season, and Canes prevailed 3-1, snapping a 10-game losing streak against the Rangers.
• In looking at the fancy stats for the Rangers, two stand out. First, they are 0-for-11 on the man advantage through their first four games. Second, out of the four goalies in the lineup tonight, the worst GAA and save percentage belongs to Henrik Lundqvist. Don't expect either of those trends to last. While off to a disappointing start, this is a team that started last season 1-4-0 and ended up in the Stanley Cup Finals. Rick Nash leads the team in scoring with six goals and seven points.
• The Rangers are suffering from a couple of significant injuries. Derek Stepan is out with a broken fibula, and Dan Boyle is recovering from a broken hand.

Projected Line-ups

Hurricanes (from yesterday's practice, unconfirmed for today)

Rangers (from yesterday's practice)

Injuries and Scratches: Derek Stepan (IR), Dan Boyle (IR broken hand), Michael Kostka, Jesper Fast, J.T. Miller

Off The Post

• Bill Peters audio from yesterday's practice [CH.com].
• Skinner and Sekera could return to the Canes line-up [WRALSportsFan] [N&O].
• Skinner is moving in the right direction for a return [CH.com].
• Canes' Boychuk and Terry help make a point [N&O].
• Apparently quite a few of the Canes players are scared of State Fair rides [CanesVision].
• Are the Rangers (or Islanders for that matter) for real? [The Hockey News].
• Alain Vigneault video from yesterday's practice [NYR.com].
• A lot of pressure is on the Rangers in today's game [Ranger Rants].
• The Rangers have problems, but the good news is they are fixable [Blueshirt Banter].

We'll have updates throughout the day and the game thread will be open and ready to roll by 6:30 pm. See you there.