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Hurricanes Prepare to Face Rangers in Final Game Before Olympics
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- Hurricanes Prepare to Face Rangers in Final Game Before Olympics
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes (35-15-6) hit the road to face the New York Rangers (22-28-6) for the third and final time this season. It will come on the final night of NHL hockey before the Olympic break begins.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
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The Hurricanes are coming off a tight 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators Tuesday, which saw a severe lack of defense, but a burst of offensive prowess and unreal goaltending . Currently, the Hurricanes ride a nine-game points streak, with a 7-1-2 record in their last ten games.
Meanwhile, the Rangers have been restless in New York, despite a four-day break. After holding him out of the lineup for three games straight, it was announced Wednesday that the Rangers had traded their leading scorer, Artemi Panarin , to the Los Angeles Kings for prospect Liam Greentree, as well as a conditional third round pick (2026) and a conditional fourth-round pick (2028).
As for goaltenders, the likely starter for Carolina is, once again, Brandon Bussi . His save percentage is .904, with a 2.24 goals against average across a 22-3-1 record.
On the Rangers' side of things, it is unclear who will start in net, as both Jonathan Quick and former Hurricanes goaltender Spencer Martin seem to have recently alternated with very little pattern as of late, while Igor Shesterkin has been out with a lower-body injury. As such, here are stats for both goalies:
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Quick: .883 SV% | 3.22 GAA | 4-12-2
Martin: .863 SV% | 4.12 GAA | 1-3-0
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Brandon Bussi / Frederik Andersen
Expected Rangers Lines
J.T. Miller – Mika Zibanejad – Gabriel Perreault
Will Cuylle – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafrenière
Jonny Brodzinski – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh
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Brennan Othmann – Sam Carrick – Matt Rempe
Defense
Vladislav Gavrikov – Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson – Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen – Scott Morrow
Goaltenders
Starting goalies for the Rangers remain unclear.
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 22.0% (13th)Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 80.4% (12th, dropped two spots from the previous game)
New York Rangers power play: 23.0% (10th)New York Rangers penalty kill: 79.5% (15th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
In the previous game, both Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis achieved seasonal milestones, as Aho notched his ninth consecutive 20-goal season and Jarvis his third consecutive 25-goal season.
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Shortly after the game, Olympians Jaccob Slavin (USA), Sebastian Aho (Finland), Frederik Andersen (Denmark), and Nikolaj Ehlers (Denmark) will fly to Milan-Cortina for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
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