Rangers at Hurricanes
THE STORY: The New York Rangers will look for their third straight win on Thursday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers have distanced themselves from the pack in the Eastern Conference as they move closer to securing home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Hurricanes are among the bottom feeders in the East, their playoff hopes dwindling by the day. This is the third of four meetings between the clubs this season, with the Rangers winning the first two games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG
ABOUT THE RANGERS (40-15-6): Fans in New York have to be excited with the way the Rangers have been winning hockey games. The current Rangers’ squad is resurrecting memories of previous Blueshirt teams that enjoyed a lot of success. The Rangers needed just 61 games to earn their 40th victory of the season, the second-quickest mark in franchise history. It equals the pace established by the the 1971-72 team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. The last Rangers championship team in 1993-94 won its 40th game of the season in 62 contests. If the Rangers hope to continue their winning ways, they may have to do it without captain Ryan Callahan - at least temporarily - as he is listed as day-to-day with a bruised foot.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (24-26-13): Carolina is coming off a 6-1-4 month of February in which it earned points in 10 of 11 games. Despite the winning month, the Hurricanes made up little ground in their chase to make the playoffs and sit in 13th spot in the East, eight points behind the eighth-place Washington Capitals. “What I really like is the way the guys are fighting and the way they’re getting points,” said coach Kirk Muller. “They’re giving everything they got. Some nights it’s not good enough and some nights it is, but I can live with that if they compete and play hard on a consistent level, which they’ve been doing.”
OVERTIME:
1. The Rangers begin a grueling stretch in Carolina that sees them play 17 games over a 30-day stretch.
2. Carolina captain Eric Staal has seven goals and nine assists during a nine-game point streak.
3. Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin has two goals and two assists in his last two outings.