When: Sunday, March 20, 6 p.m. EST
Watch:Bally Sports South, Bally Sports App
Listen:99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes.com/Listen, Hurricanes App
Canes Record:41-14-6 (88 Points, 1st - Metropolitan Division)
Canes Last Game:4-3 Shootout Loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday, March 18.
Rangers Record:39-18-5 (83 Points, 3rd - Metropolitan Division)
Rangers Last Game:2-1 Win vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, March 19.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
THE QUICK HITS:
Last Time Out:Despite the first career multi-goal game for Seth Jarvis, the Canes fell in a shootout to the Washington Capitals on Friday. Alex Ovechkin tied the game with a late third period power play goal and then won it in the skills competition for his team's third victory over Carolina this season. Antti Raanta stopped 37 out of 40 in the losing effort.
Injury Report:Neither Jordan Martinook nor Tony DeAngelo played for Carolina Friday, each on their own end of the injury spectrum. Martinook went down awkwardly in the corner Thursday night in the team's contest against Toronto and there was no further information available ahead of the contest against Washington. On the DeAngelo front, the defenseman has been a game-time decision for the last several outings. #77 has been on the verge of returning after suffering a core injury on Monday, February 21 in Philadelphia.
Home Ice Advantage:Carolina enters tonight with points in 14 consecutive home games (12-0-2). Should they achieve one again today, they'll match the team's franchise record, set in 2005-06, with 15 in a row. Their 23 wins at home this season rank tied for third in the NHL and overall the team has points in 26 of 30 games played at PNC Arena this season.
In The Crease:The Canes have alternated between Raanta and Frederik Andersen for their last five contests, and with Raanta having played against Washington on Friday, that would suggest that today might be Andersen's turn. "Freddie" suffered the loss against Toronto in his last time out, allowing three goals on 21 shots. Through 40 starts this season, the All-Star netminder is 30-9-2.
Serial Killers:The Hurricanes went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill versus Washington Friday, and they are now 67-for-74 on the kill over their last 23 games (1/25-3/13: 90.5%). Despite facing 3.46 opposing power plays per game, tied with Nashville for the league high, Carolina leads the NHL in penalty kill percentage (89.1%), with the second-best kill on home ice (91.4%, CGY: 93.8%). New York enters Sunday's matchup with the league's second-best power play (27.0%), third best on the road (25.6%).
Tro's Touch:Forward Vincent Trocheck enters tonight on a four-game point streak. After scoring Friday night, he now has a pair of goals and assists since last Saturday's win over the Flyers.
New York South:The Canes have six players that have all played for the Rangers over the course of their careers. Brady Skjei, Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, Brendan Smith, Raanta and DeAngelo have all been members of the club within the last several seasons.
A Look At The Other Side:New York was in Tampa last night, coming from behind to earn a 2-1 victory. The Lightning were ahead 1-0 after 20 minutes of play but a power play goal by Mike Zibanejad with 16 seconds to go in regulation ultimately served as the game-winner. 6-4 in their last ten, the Rangers will start Alex Georgiev in goal tonight.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
More Milestones: Jordan Staal is two points shy of 600. Jaccob Slavin is three points shy of 200 for his NHL career.
What Are We Wearing?:The team will be wearing their black sweaters tonight.
Worth A Click:
Mailbag #20: Approaching The Trade Deadline
Stepan's Ride To Raleigh & Fit With The Canes
Hurricanes March Schedule
NHL Standings
