Hurricanes at Rangers: Preview

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers
November 10, 2015 - 7:00 pm ET
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
Fox Sports Carolinas - 99.9 FM - WRALSportsFan app
SB Nation Rivals - Blueshirt Banter

Vital Statistics

*Stats from NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• One must go back all the way to October 29, 2010 to locate a Hurricanes win at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have been one of the Canes' most difficult opponents in recent history. Last season the Rangers swept the five-game series and outscored the Canes 12-5, with the Canes posting a 0-2-3 record with three shootout losses and one shutout loss. Over the last five seasons, the Canes record against the Rangers is 3-11-6.
• If there's a silver lining, the Canes only have to face their Metro division foe four times this season, not five. The Rangers are on a five-game winning streak and have captured points in their last nine games. They are ranked first in the NHL in goals allowed/game (1.71), even strength goals for (71.7%), and PDO (106.4). They are ranked in the top five in goals for/game and penalty kill. Their puck possession stats, however, are not as impressive, near the bottom of the league in shots allowed and ES Corsi, and they suffer a substantial drop in possession in the second and third periods. In other words, they get off to a good start and rely on defense and goaltending to shut down their opponents, which doesn't bode well for a team like the Canes that can generate plenty of offense but have a hard time converting.
• That said... there's a chance if the Canes can keep the score even in regulation, which they did three times last season. The Rangers have played two overtime games and lost both, one in overtime and one in a shootout. The Canes are perfect so far with three overtime wins.
• The Rangers are led by Mats Zuccarello and 24-year old rookie Oscar Lindberg, both with 11 points (7g, 4a). Rick Nash is expected to be in the line-up tonight after missing the last two games with a back issues. Nash has been in a bit of a slump this season, credited with only one goal and it didn't even go into the net (it was a penalty called on an empty net). The lines listed below reflect how the team skated yesterday. Henrik Lundqvist is expected (but not confirmed) to get the start in net.
• After Saturday's win against the Senators, the Canes took the day off Sunday and practiced at PNC Arena yesterday before heading to NYC. Head coach Bill Peters was in Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame ceremonies, so assistant coaches Rod Brind'Amour and Steve Smith ran the drills (lines listed below). Joakim Nordstrom joined practice after returning from a conditioning assignment in Charlotte, and is expected to be in the lineup. The coaches have not named a starting goaltender.
• Justin Faulk now sits alone atop the NHL leaderboard in power play goals (5). After tallying zero points in his first nine games, Jordan Staal has six points (3g, 3a) in his last five games. He and brother Eric Staal both have points in three straight games.

Projected Lineups

Hurricanes (from Monday's practice)

Eric Staal - Victor Rask - Elias Lindholm
Nathan Gerbe -Jordan Staal - Chris Terry
Jeff Skinner - Riley Nash - Kris Versteeg
Brock McGinn - Jay McClement - Joakim Nordstrom
Brad Malone/Andrej Nestrasil

Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk 
John-Michael Liles - Brett Pesce
Michal Jordan - Ryan Murphy
Noah Hanifin

Cam Ward
Eddie Lack

Injuries and scratches: James Wisniewski (IR - ACL)

Rangers (from Monday's practice)

Rick Nash - Derick Brassard - Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - J.T. Miller
Oscar Lindberg - Kevin Hayes - Viktor Stalberg
Emerson Etem - Jarret Stoll - Jesper Fast
Dominic Moore

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Kevin Klein
Keith Yandle - Dan Boyle
Dylan McIlrath

Henrik Lundqvist
Antti Raanta

Storm Debris

• With Bill Peters absent, yesterday's post-practice update duty fell to Rod Brind'Amour and his comments are worth a listen [CH.com].
• Canes want to ride the "emotional high" from Saturday's win [CH.com].
• Canes continue to struggle when it's five on five [N&O].
• Rick Nash practices, "good to go" Tuesday [Blueshirts United].
• Alain Vigneault post-practice on line-up and expectations for tonight's game [Rangers.com].
• That John-Michael Liles, he's pretty alright: A statistical spotlight [Section 328].
• You should pay attention to how awesome the NHL's 3-on-3 overtime hockey is [SBNation].
• With one week down, it's time for a Movember update [CH.com].
• Peter Karmanos was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last night. Here's a congratulations from the team [CH.com] and excerpts from his speech [NHL.com].
• Also honored yesterday was author and hockey analyst Bob McKenzie, who received the Elmer Ferguson Award for journalistic excellence. But as TSN discovered, perhaps Bob's Insider coverage isn't all as it appears [TSN.ca].
• Finally, a new #Redvolution commercial from the Canes. It sure is nice having a rookie around.