Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers: Lineups and Game Discussion

The Carolina Hurricanes (15-8-1, 31pts) return to action tonight against the New York Rangers (11-9-2, 24pts). The Canes will play their second straight road game after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Sunday night. They’ve now won four straight on the road and six of their last seven overall.

With a goal and an assist on Sunday, Sebastian Aho (12g, 8a) reached the twenty point milestone for the year. The 22-year-old now has goals in six of his last nine games, and he currently boasts a four-game point streak.

Not to be outdone, Andrei Svechnikov (11g, 16a) has an eight-game point streak entering tonight’s game. The second-year Russian is only ten points shy of his season total (37) from last year.

Petr Mrazek (11-4-1) is expected to get the start, his first road start since a 30 save performance against the Blackhawks on November 19th.

The Canes’ lines should be the same as on Sunday, with one change. Erik Haula did not travel to New York as he continues to rest his knee. Haydn Fleury makes his return to the lineup for the first time in six games, and Trevor van Riemsdyk will be the healthy extra.

Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Brock McGinn - Jordan Staal - Warren Foegele
Nino Niederreiter - Lucas Wallmark - Martin Necas
Ryan Dzingel - Eetu Luostarinen - Jordan Martinook

Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Joel Edmundson - Brett Pesce
Jake Gardiner - Haydn Fleury

Petr Mrazek
James Reimer

Injuries and Scratches: Erik Haula (knee), Trevor van Riemsdyk (healthy)

Back on November 7th, Henrik Lundqvist made 45 saves en route to a 4-2 Rangers victory. Since then, the Rangers have gone 4-3-1, and they’re currently riding a two-game winning streak.

It’s been an encouraging start to life in New York for Artemi Panarin (12g, 18a). He leads the Rangers in goals (12) and assists (18). The Russian has recorded two or more points in five of his last six games.

One fun matchup to keep an eye on will be Martin Necas and Kaapo Kakko. The two Calder trophy hopefuls are tied for third in the league (among rookies) with six goals each entering tonight’s game.

Former Canes draft pick Adam Fox has been arguably the Rangers best defenseman. The rookie has recorded three goals, eight assists, and is plus-6 this year.

Here’s how the Rangers are expected to take the ice:

Artemi Panarin - Ryan Strome - Chris Kreider
Brendan Lemieux - Filip Chytil - Pavel Buchnevich
Kaapo Kakko - Brett Howden - Jesper Fast
Micheal Haley - Boo Nieves - Brendan Smith

Brady Skjei - Jacob Trouba
Libor Hajek - Tony DeAngelo
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox

Henrik Lundqvist
Alexandar Georgiev

Injuries and Scratches: Mika Zibanejad (upper-body), Marc Staal (Ankle), Greg McKegg (lower-body)