Carolina Hurricanes Look for First Win of the Season Against New York Rangers
By Brett Finger
Coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes (0-2-1) are still searching for their first win of the 2014-2015 season against the New York Rangers (1-3-0) on Thursday night at MSG.
Information
Time: 7:00 pm (ET)
TV: Fox Sports: Carolinas
Radio: 99.9 FM The Fan
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Carolina Hurricanes Lineup (as of 10/15/14)
Forwards
Line 1: Jiri Tlusty – Victor Rask – Alexander Semin
Line 2: Nathan Gerbe – Riley Nash – Elias Lindholm
Line 3: Jeff Skinner – Brad Malone – Patrick Brown
Line 4: Chris Terry – Jay McClement – Zach Boychuk
Defense
Line 1: Justin Faulk – Ron Hainsey
Line 2: Tim Gleason – Ryan Murphy
Line 3: Brett Bellemore – Jay Harrison
Goalies
Starter: Anton Khudobin
Backup: Cam Ward
Injuries: Andrej Sekera (Upper-body, may play), Eric Staal (Upper-body, out), Jordan Staal (Broken fibula, out), Patrick Dwyer (Lower-body, out), John-Michael Liles (Soreness, may play)
New York Rangers Lineup (as of 10/15/14)
Forwards
Line 1: Anthony Duclair – Martin St. Louis – Rick Nash
Line 2: Chris Kreider – Derick Brassard – Lee Stempniak
Line 3: Carl Hagelin – Kevin Hayes – Mats Zuccarello
Line 4: Ryan Malone – Dominic Moore – Tanner Glass
Defense
Line 1: Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
Line 2: Marc Staal – Mike Kostka
Line 3: John Moore – Kevin Klein
Goalie:
Starter: Henrik Lundqvist
Backup: Cam Talbot
Injuries: Derek Stepan (Fractured fibula, out), Dan Boyle (Broken hand, out)
Carolina Hurricanes Outlook
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off a tightly contested 4-3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes played sloppy hockey throughout the game, but forced overtime and shootout thanks to great play from the line of Chris Terry, Jay McClement, and Zach Boychuk in the late stages of period three. Terry and Boychuk both scored in the final 10 minutes of period three to make it 3-3 on Tuesday.
The Carolina Hurricanes look much stronger up front with the expected addition of forward Jeff Skinner back in the lineup for Thursday night in New York.
The addition of Skinner should add more scoring depth for the Hurricanes on Thursday. The team’s leading goal scorer from last year has certainly been missed through the first three games of this season.
Victor Rask will be centering the top line with Jiri Tlusty and Alexander Semin on his wings on Thursday. Rask hasn’t tallied any points this year, but he will be relied on heavily on Thursday with two high-end players on his wing.
Alexander Semin is coming off a game on Tuesday where he did not register any shots on net. That can’t happen again. The Hurricanes need Semin to be a constant force on offense for them to get out of the rut they are in right now.
Andrej Sekera went hard into the board Tuesday night against the Sabres. Though his x-rays came back negative, Canes head coach Bill Peters has said that he is very sore and is questionable for Thursday’s game.
Brody Sutter was called up for Thursday’s game in New York, so he may get into the lineup if Jeff Skinner, or someone else, is not ready to play against the Rangers.
New York Rangers Outlook
The New York Rangers were embarrassed by their cross-state rivals, the New York Islanders, in a 6-3 loss on Tuesday night.
The Rangers defense was exposed by the Islanders on Tuesday. The Rangers will need to strengthen up their blue line by Thursday night to keep up with a Hurricanes offense that is quick and can be dangerous, especially with the potential return of Jeff Skinner to the team’s lineup.
The New York offense will be lead by the first line that features two of the league’s premier talents in Martin St. Louis and Rick Nash. Those two are always dangerous, and the Canes defense needs to be on their feet at all times when they are on the ice.
With 6 goals and 7 points already on the season, Rick Nash has been one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. St. Louis has picked up 4 assists in 4 games as well. Anthony Duclair rounds out the first line, and he has 3 points in 4 games.
The second forward line, featuring Lee Stempniak and and Chris Kreider, has also been dangerous. Both Stempniak ans Kreider have 4 points in 4 games for New York this season.
Follow Cardiac Cane on Twitter for in-game updates during Thursday night’s game and all other games throughout the season!