Rangers at Hurricanes
THE STORY: A change behind the bench brought an uptick in effort for the Carolina Hurricanes, but the end result was still a loss in Kirk Muller's NHL head coaching debut on Tuesday night. The Hurricanes will look to deliver Muller his first win when they play host to the red-shot New York Rangers on Thursday night. Carolina will be happy to turn the page on a disastrous November that saw them log a 4-10-1 record and close the month with four consecutive losses. The Rangers, conversely, enter Thursday's game on roll, having ripped off a three-game winning streak to finish off the month with a 9-2 record that has elevated them into contention in the highly competitive Atlantic Division. The Hurricanes continue to struggle on their home ice, dropping five of their last six. That’s not a good omen against New York, which has won three of its last four visits to Carolina.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSCR (Raleigh)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (13-5-3): New York has taken down three of the Eastern Conference heavyweights during its current winning streak, beating Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Henrik Lundqvist was in net for all three victories, running his record for November to 8-1-0. C Brad Richards had scored a goal in each of his last three games, putting up six points in that span. John Mitchell has a point in all three games since being called up from the AHL.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (8-14-4): Carolina’s power play continues to be a disaster. Despite a league-high 120 opportunities with the man advantage, the Hurricanes rank 29th in the league. They came up empty on five chances in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Florida. Carolina also ranks 26th on the penalty kill, although it has scored a league-best five shorthanded goals. D Derek Joslin averted disciplinary action for an inadvertent elbow that bloodied the face of Florida’s Kris Versteeg.
OVERTIME:
1. New York D Marc Staal skated on his own Monday and Tuesday. He hasn’t played since February due to a concussion suffered on a hit by his brother, Hurricanes captain Eric Staal.
2. The Rangers hammered Carolina 5-1 on Nov. 11, getting 34 saves from Lundqvist