Game Preview: Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Rangers

The Carolina Hurricanes head into Madison Square Garden for the first of three matchups against the New York Rangers this season. They do it on the heels of a closer-than-it-should-have-been win over the Flyers, where Teuvo Teravainen worked some late-game magic to secure two points for the team.

The Hurricanes look to extend a three-game winning streak tonight. Meanwhile, the Rangers just swept a five-game road trip, starting in Seattle and winding through Canada. Over the course of those five games, the Rangers outscored their opponents 17-7, including one shutout in Edmonton.

The Rangers have been excelling defensively this season. Both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick have been excellent in net for the Rangers, with Quick leading the league in Goals Against Average (an inexplicable 0.41) and save percentage (0.982). The team is also getting strong offensive production from Artemi Panarin (15 points), Adam Fox (11 points), and Mika Zibanejad (9 points), while Chris Kreider leads the team in goals (6).

Game Notes

• The Rangers’ five road wins marks the first time that they have won every game in a 5-or-more game road trip in franchise history.
• Tonight marks the 600th NHL game for Artemi Panarin.
• The Rangers are 5-0-0 when scoring first.
• These two teams have a lot of players shared between them. Current Ranger Vincent Trocheck was a former Hurricane, while Adam Fox was a Hurricanes draft pick. (acquisition). Jesper Fast, Tony DeAngelo, Brady Skjei, Antti Raanta, and Brendan Lemieux all previously donned Rangers jerseys, while Jack Drury is the nephew of Chris Druruy, the president and general manager of the Rangers.
• Martin Necas is one point away from his 200th career point.
• Stefan Noesen is just two points away from 100 career points.