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Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers
Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 - 1:00 pm
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
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Vital Statistics
Hurricanes | Rangers | |
Record | 9-9-5 | 16-8-1 |
Points | 23 | 33 |
Division Rank | 7 Metro | 1 Metro |
Conference Rank | 14 EC | 2 EC |
Last 10 Games | 6-3-1 | 5-4-1 |
Streak | OT 1 | Lost 1 |
Goals/Game | 2.35 | 3.64 |
Goals Against/Game | 2.57 | 2.48 |
Shots/Game | 29.9 | 28.4 |
Shots Against/Game | 27.6 | 29.8 |
ES Corsi For % | 52.6% | 45.8% |
Faceoff % | 52.1% | 49.2% |
ES PDO | 98.3 | 103.6 |
Power Play % (Rank) | 20.6% (10) | 23.3% (5) |
Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 90.3% (1) | 84.4% (9) |
PIM/Game | 06:46 | 06:16 |
Goaltender #1 | Ward | Lundqvist |
Record | 7-7-4 | 11-7-1 |
ES Save % | .921 | .918 |
GAA | 2.21 | 2.49 |
Goaltender #2 | Leighton | Raanta |
Record | 1-0-0 | 5-1-0 |
ES Save % | .957 | .936 |
GAA | 2.00 | 2.20 |
Game Notes
- The Canes and Rangers face off this afternoon for the third time this season and the second time this week. The Canes got the better of the Rangers in a 3-2 win in their home opener on Oct. 28, then opened their current three-game road trip with a 3-2 loss just four nights ago.
- Tuesday’s loss was unfortunately not an anomaly for the Canes, as they watched an early lead dissipate in an eventual loss. It was a pattern they repeated Thursday night in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Bruins. On the season they are 6-1-4 when holding a lead going into the second period, 6-5-2 in one-goal games, and 3-4-3 after scoring the first goal of the game.
- They’ve also now gone winless in 12 visits (0-9-3) to Madison Square Garden dating back to Oct. 29, 2010.
- In addition to losing Jordan Staal earlier this week to a concussion, the Canes may be without Elias Lindholm today. Lindholm left Thursday’s game with a lower body concern and did not practice with the team yesterday. His status for today is uncertain. In post-practice comments, head coach Bill Peters mentioned that Lindholm was optimistic about his return but had not met with trainers for a final evaluation. Andrej Nestrasil, a healthy scratch Thursday, will draw back into the lineup if Lindholm is not available.
- Peters also has not named a goaltender for today’s matchup. The Canes will return home to face the Lightning tomorrow in their third set (of 16) back-to-back games, so Cam Ward and Michael Leighton will most likely split weekend duties. Ward has a 12-16-4 record with a 2.57 GAA and two shutouts in 33 career games against New York, and Leighton is 1-1-1 with a 1.64 GAA and one shutout in three career games.
- Victor Rask is two points shy of 100 NHL career points.
- The Rangers started November on a five-game winning streak and won seven of eight games, but their record in the last six games has been: W-L-W-L-W (vs Carolina) - L. Despite that middle-of-the-road streak, they have outscored their opponents 53-37 in 15 games this month while leading the NHL in goals and goals per game (3.53). They have yet to play two consecutive games without winning at least a point.
- The Rangers fell victim to giving up a lead themselves Thursday night, taking a 3-2 lead into the third period against the Buffalo Sabres before being Eicheled with two unanswered goals in a 4-3 loss. They remain atop the Metro division over the Pittsburgh Penguins but their margin is down to two points.
- The Rangers 11.5% five-on-five shooting percentage leads the league by almost 2-1/2 percentage points. They led the league with an overall 9.0% last season. Michael Grabner leads the team with 12 goals, and J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes are tied for the team lead with 19 points.
- Miller did not practice with the Rangers yesterday but is expected to be in today’s lineup, as is Kevin Klein, who was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s game. Henrik Lundqvist has been named as the starter in net. His record against the Canes is 24-11-1 with a 2.11 GAA and two shutouts in 36 appearances. Antti Raanta has not faced the Canes in his career.
- Neither team had finalized rosters as of yesterday’s practices, and neither will practice this morning before the matinee game, so lineups are projected based on a combination of practice notes and post-practice interviews (Bill Peters; Alain Vigneault).
- Be sure to tune in during intermission for a special feature with Mike Maniscalco and nearby Tarrytown, NY native Brett Pesce as they talk hockey from the top of the Empire State Building.
Projected Lineups
Hurricanes (from Thurs. 12/1 vs. Bruins)
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Elias Lindholm*
Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen - Lee Stempniak
Brock McGinn - Derek Ryan - Phil Di Giuseppe
Joakim Nordstrom - Jay McClement - Viktor Stalberg
Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk
Jaccob Slavin - Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin - Matt Tennyson
Cam Ward
Michael Leighton
Injuries and Scratches: Bryan Bickell (multiple sclerosis), Jordan Staal (IR concussion), Andrej Nestrasil (healthy), Klas Dahlbeck (healthy)
Rangers (from Fri. 12/2 practice reports)
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey - Kevin Hayes - Rick Nash
Brandon Pirri - J.T. Miller - Michael Grabner
Jesper Fast - Oscar Lindberg - Matt Puempel
Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Nick Holden
Brady Skjei - Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist
Antti Raanta
Injuries and Scratches: Mika Zibanejad (ankle), Pavel Buchnevich (back spasms), Josh Jooris (healthy), Adam Clendening (healthy)
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