Game On: Hurricanes vs Rangers

Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers
January 22, 2016 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
Fox Sports Carolina - 99.9 FM - WRALSportsFan app
SB Nation Rivals - Blue Shirt Banter

Vital Statistics

*Stats from NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• Nothing like grinding out a 1-0 overtime win on the road, declaring two points through customs, arriving home at 2:00 am, and awakening to play tonight against a rested division rival you've lost to 18 out of your last 19 games, likely in front of a far-less-than-capacity crowd due to hazardous weather conditions. So if you're the Carolina Hurricanes, tonight's strategy against the New York Rangers may be all about manufacturing energy to weather the storms inside and outside the arena.
• Historically, the Canes do not fare well against the Rangers. One has to go back three seasons to find the last win (March 11, 2014) and three more seasons to find the one before that (Jan. 20, 2011). The Rangers shut out the Canes 3-0 the first time they played this season (3-0 on Nov. 10) and held on for a 4-3 win on Nov. 30. The Rangers currently hold the league's best even-strength shooting percentage (9.2%) and they are in the top ten in even-strength save percentage (8th at 93.4%) which earns them the league's best PDO (102.5, tied with the Capitals).
• With that said, the Rangers are 9-13-3 in their last 25 games, while the Canes are 13-8-4 over that same period. When the Rangers defeated the Canes on Nov. 30, they had a points earned differential of 16 (36 points vs. 20). Now the teams are only separated in the standings by five points. The Rangers have games in hand, but the gap has been tightened.
• The Rangers come into tonight's game with a home win against the Canucks on Tuesday. They have not won consecutive games since mid-November. They made a roster move yesterday, signing former Sabre/Bruin Daniel Paille to a contract. He'll be expected to carry fourth line minutes and help on the penalty kill, though he's not confirmed to be in the lineup tonight, having not yet practiced with the team. Chris Kreider did not practice yesterday due to neck spasms and is questionable for tonight's game. Derick Brassard missed Tuesday's game due to illness but is expected to be back in the lineup tonight.
• The lucky number is 17 for Mats Zuccarello, who has 17 points against the Canes in 17 games played, and he leads the Rangers this season with 17 goals. He also has 17 assists (and leads the team with 34 points). Henrik Lundqvist has a 22-9-1 record against the Canes in 32 appearances, with a 2.06 GAA and two shutouts.
• With a late night in Ontario and back-to-back games, the Canes won't hold a practice this morning, so until otherwise announced, the assumption is no changes to last night's roster. Eddie Lack, who earned first star honors with his first shutout in net for the Canes, has a record of one loss against the Rangers and a 3.06 GAA in two career games.
• The Canes are now 16-5-2 in back-to-back games played this season and 7-2-2 in the second game of the set.
• A final note, tonight's game will be played as scheduled, and the Canes will be offering a ticket exchange for those who are unable to make it to the arena (see below for details). The forecast for the Triangle does not look good, for now temperatures are hovering around the freezing mark and sleet and freezing rain are expected to continue. Conditions at game time could be worse post-game. If you plan to attend the game in person, please use caution and do not put yourself in harm's way. I will do my best to pass along any weather-related updates here or on twitter (@jbkellner).
• More great reads in today's Storm Debris so please check them out while weathering the storm.

Projected Lineups

Hurricanes (1/21 vs Leafs)

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

Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk 
John-Michael Liles - Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin - Jaccob Slavin
Michal Jordan

Eddie Lack
Daniel Altshuller

Injuries and scratches: James Wisniewski (IR ACL), Cam Ward (IR concussion)

Rangers (1/19 vs Canucks)

Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - J.T. Miller
Rick Nash - Kevin Hayes - Mats Zuccarello
Jesper Fast - Oscar Lindberg - Viktor Stalberg
Tanner Glass - Dominic Moore - Jayson Megna
Derick Brassard
Daniel Paille

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

Henrik Lundqvist
Antti Raanta

Storm Debris

• Canes Gameday Hub [CH.com].
• This is admittedly low tech camera recording from my TV, but in case you missed it live, here are the Ron Francis intermission interviews from Sunday's broadcast [part 1] [part 2].
• Tripp Tracy on Eric Staal's contract, Cam Ward's injury, and who to watch on the blue line [NHL Network].
• Never change, Leafs. Could Noah Hanifin be the one they let slip away? [Toronto Star].
• Carolina's rookie defensemen are growing up so fast [THN].
• The Hurricanes are climbing into the playoff picture by evolving into a puck-possession team [Globe&Mail].
• The Panthers #keeppounding and it's creating a buzz around the hockey team as well [Yahoo Sports CA].
• Are the Canes in the hunt for Jonathan Drouin, as rumored? [Cardiac Cane]

Press Release regarding tonight's game

[CH.com]

Hurricanes-Rangers to be Played as Scheduled
Ticket exchange offered to fans unable to travel to tonight's game
Friday, 01.22.2016 / 11:15 AM ET / News
By Terrell Williams

RALEIGH, NC - Don Waddell, President of Gale Force Sports & Entertainment, today announced that tonight's National Hockey League game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers will be played as scheduled. Both teams and the NHL officials for the contest are in Raleigh.

Because North Carolina is currently under a State of Emergency due to Winter Storm Jonas, the Hurricanes are offering a ticket exchange for fans who feel uncomfortable traveling to PNC Arena for tonight's game. Fans may exchange their tickets to tonight's game for comparable seats to one of the following six contests:

Sunday, Jan. 24 vs. Calgary
Tuesday, Feb. 16 vs. Winnipeg
Sunday, Feb. 21 vs. Tampa Bay
Tuesday, March 8 vs. Ottawa
Sunday, March 27 vs. New Jersey
Thursday, March 31 vs. New York Rangers

All ticket exchanges must take place at the PNC Arena Box Office during normal box office hours. The Hurricanes will also offer a special 25 percent snow-day discount on select items at their official team store, The Eye, to all fans in attendance at tonight's game.