Hurricanes at Rangers
The New York Rangers appeared poised to carry over the momentum from last season's surprising run to the Stanley Cup final, getting a dramatic late goal from Rick Nash to earn an impressive opening victory at St. Louis. While Nash has yet to slow down, the rest of Rangers are in a tailspin and will attempt to halt a three-game losing streak when they host the winless Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. New York has dominated the series with Carolina, winning 11 of the past 12 matchups.
The Rangers have absorbed back-to-back 6-3 defeats at home, giving up five second-period goals to Toronto on Sunday before the New York Islanders scored four times in the third on Tuesday. “Once they get one (goal), we kind of sit back on our heels, we all get nervous, and we just can’t ... do something to get the pressure off us,” New York defenseman Dan Girardi said. Carolina is dealing with pressure of its own, still in search of its first victory after falling to Buffalo in a shootout Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Carolina, MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (0-2-1): Carolina was short-handed against Buffalo with captain Eric Staal and Patrick Dwyer sidelined by injuries, but could receive a boost Thursday with the potential return of Jeff Skinner, who has been out since the final preseason game with his third career concussion. The former Calder Trophy winner, who led the team with a career-high 33 goals last season, will be re-evaluated Thursday morning. Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said there's also a chance defenseman Andrej Sekera could be back in the lineup despite crashing headfirst into the end boards against the Sabres.
ABOUT NEW YORK (1-3-0): The Rangers must regroup defensively after former Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist was torched for at least five goals in consecutive games for the first time in his storied career. "As a whole, that group is playing under par and we need them to play a good game tomorrow," coach Alain Vigneault told reporters Wednesday. "There is a lot of pressure on us tomorrow. ... I am expecting us to be focused and energized for a big, tough game." Nash set a franchise record with a four-game goal-scoring streak to open the season and his six tallies lead the league.
OVERTIME
1. New York has won six straight at home against Carolina.
2. Skinner has six goals and six assists in 14 games against New York.
3. The Rangers are 0-for-11 on the power play this season.