Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 22nd 2024
Preview and Prediction
In recent weeks, the New York Rangers have been preoccupied with trades, rumors, and a lack of success on the ice, causing them to fall behind in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Their division rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes, have also struggled to win games lately, but their struggles are not as severe as those of the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season.
On Sunday afternoon, the two teams will face off in New York. The Rangers are hoping to string together back-to-back wins for the first time in over a month, while the Hurricanes are looking to end a five-game losing streak on the road (0-4-1).
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New York has only won four of their last 15 games since a three-game winning streak in mid-November. The team has fallen behind in the division due to a tumultuous period that included trades of key players such as captain Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko, as well as speculation about the future of their president and general manager, Chris Drury, who reportedly told other GMs that the Rangers were open to making trades last month.
The Rangers had only scored three goals in their previous three games before defeating the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Friday to end a three-game road trip.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made an impressive 41 saves, including 21 on seven Dallas power plays. The team also had to deal with three penalties from Matt Rempe, who was given a five-minute major and an in-person hearing by the NHL for his hit on Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
Following the trade of Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, the Rangers had a light-hearted practice on Thursday. They managed to hold onto a lead against the Stars, with goals from Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck, who had previously denied rumors of a team meeting to discuss their feelings about Drury.
"We just need to focus on winning games. We're not dwelling on the past, we're just taking it one game at a time. Tonight was a step in the right direction," said Trocheck. "Our penalty kill was outstanding, especially with 17 minutes on the kill. We can build a lot of momentum from that kind of performance."
While the Hurricanes have not struggled as much as the Rangers, they have still only won four of their last 10 games since their previous meeting with New York on November 27th.
After two dominant wins at home, Carolina began a four-game road trip with a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday. The team allowed two goals in the final minute of the first and second periods and were only able to score once, with Sebastian Aho assisting on a goal by Seth Jarvis in the third period.
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"Those goals were brutal," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Giving up goals at the start or end of periods is something that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That was ultimately the difference in the game. We can't let those kinds of goals happen."
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers Recap MAY 5TH 2024
Vincent Trocheck scored a power-play goal 7:24 into double overtime as the host New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Tuesday night in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Less than a minute after Trocheck drew a cross-checking penalty on Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei in the offensive zone, the former Hurricanes forward won the four-plus-hour marathon by going to the crease and redirecting a cross-ice pass from Mika Zibanejad past goaltender Frederik Andersen.
It was Trocheck's fifth goal of the playoffs.
Alexis Lafreniere scored twice for the Rangers, and Chris Kreider scored the game-tying goal on a power play 6:07 into the third. Artemi Panarin collected three assists as New York took a 2-0 series lead and improved to 6-0 in the postseason.
Carolina's Jake Guentzel scored twice for his eighth career multi-goal playoff game, three of which have come against the Rangers. Dmitry Orlov also tallied for the Hurricanes, while Sebastian Aho matched a playoff career high with three assists.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 54 saves, including seven on Aho.
Andersen made 35 saves.
The Rangers went ahead with 9:07 left in the first following a miscue in the corner by Andersen, who lost the puck to New York center Alex Wennberg. After K'Andre Miller had his shot blocked, Lafreniere gained possession in the left circle and lifted a shot over Andersen's left arm.
The Rangers held the lead until Guentzel deflected a point shot by Aho over Shesterkin's pad with 4:53 left in the first. Carolina took a 2-1 lead with six seconds left in the period during a four-on-four when Orlov tipped in a shot from the point by Skjei.
New York tied it with 12:28 left in the second after withstanding an early Carolina barrage. Panarin made a drop pass to Adam Fox, Fox cut to the left circle and Lafreniere sent the cross-ice pass by Andersen.
Shortly after a neutral-zone turnover, the Hurricanes got the puck deep into their offensive zone, and Guentzel snapped a 2-2 tie at 18:18 of the second by getting between the circles and sending a one-timer past Shesterkin while his left knee hit the ice.