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New York Rangers: A game with the playoffs in the balance

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 27: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes takes the shot against Brady Skjei #76 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 27: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes takes the shot against Brady Skjei #76 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers attempts to avoid contact with Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers attempts to avoid contact with Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

About the Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have been playing above .500 hockey since the All-Star break, going 5-3-1 in that time.  They are coming off a big 4-1 road win over the Predators, but they have settled into a win one, lose one rhythm.

It looks like Petr Mrazek will be in goal for the Hurricanes.   He is the number one starter for Carolina with a 20-15-2 record and a 2.67 goals against average and .905 save percentage.

The rest of the Hurricanes lineup will be the same that played on Tuesday in Nashville.   Sebastian Aho is the team’s leading scorer with 34 goals and 57 points.  Andrei Svechnikov is the only other Hurricane with over 20 goals.

The team’s leading defenseman, Dougie Hamilton, was lost for the season with a broken leg last month and his loss has hurt.   Jacob Slavin is the top blueliner offensively in the lineup with five goals and 30 points.

The Hurricanes should be sending the Montreal Canadiens fruit baskets for signing Aho to an offer sheet over the summer.   The Canes matched and now have their star center locked in for five years at the bargain rate of $8.5 million per year.   The 22-year old Finn is making his mark as one of the best young players in the NHL.   He has been on fire lately.  In his last 12 games he has 11 goals and seven assists and has been unstoppable.   He is on a ten game point scoring streak.

This will be the Rangers first look at Justin Williams who signed with the Hurricanes in January. In ten games, the 38-year old has two goals and one assist playing on the second line with Jordan Staal.

Carolina comes into the game with the tenth best offense in the league, averaging 3.19 goals per game.   They have the ninth best defense, allowing an average of 2.79 goals per game. Their power play ranks 19th in the NHL, but they have a solid penalty kill, the seventh best in the league with an 82.8% success rate.

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