Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers: Struggling Hurricanes Take on Surging Rangers

• The Carolina Hurricanes are 2-3-0 in their previous five games.

• The New York Rangers are 4-0-1 in their last five games.

• The Rangers are 2-0-0 against the Hurricanes last season.

Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers Odds

Odds Taken from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers Predictions and Picks

New York Rangers beat Carolina Hurricanes 5-2

New York Rangers cover

Over 6.5 goals

Head-to-Head: Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers

Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers Predictions and Picks

The Carolina Hurricanes will travel to New York to face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. This is the third time these teams will see each other this season. The Rangers have won both games by scores of 5-3 and 6-2, respectively.

The Hurricanes are the second-best team in the NHL and in first place in the Metropolitan Conference with 98 points. However, they only have a one-point lead over the second-place New Jersey Devils, so they must win this game. On the other side, the Rangers are in third place in the Metropolitan with 92 points. They will probably finish the season in this position but have a chance to move up.

The Hurricanes have been struggling a little bit lately but having a great season overall. They have the second-best defense in the NHL and allow less than 2.6 goals per game. Offensively, they are a little closer to the league average, but overall, their team is quite well-rounded. Carolina has all to pieces to win it all.

The Hurricanes have four players (Martin Necas, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Brett Burns) with 50+ points. The Hurricanes are unbeatable when these four are all playing to their potential.

The Hurricanes have decent netminders in Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. With that being said, these two dominated in net in the Playoffs last season and will likely do the same this year.

The Rangers have stepped it up in the second half of the season and pushed their defense into the top five and their offense into the top ten. They will have a harder time in the Playoffs but are my dark horse choice to win the Stanley Cup.

The Rangers have four players (Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Filip Chytil) with 20+ goals. Any time a team has this many goal-scorers, they will be hard to beat.

Igor Shesterkin is the Rangers’ #1 netminder and will get the start today. He is second in the league with 32 wins and allows less than 2.6 goals per game.

The Rangers are playing stronger hockey and know how to beat the Hurricanes, so I would bet on them to win.

Why Might the Carolina Hurricanes Win?

The Hurricanes are the underdogs but can win if they score the first goal and draw penalties. 

The Hurricanes are an excellent team but struggling at the moment. In their previous game, they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in overtime but have only won two of their last five games. They have less than 15 games left in the year and must return to form in this matchup. They can do that by scoring the first goal. If the Hurricanes strike first, they will have an edge over the Rangers and have momentum in their direction.

The Hurricanes have an average power play unit and covert 21.3% of their opportunities. That is not enough and will not cut it in this game. Carolina’s power play unit must get on the ice and take advantage of their opportunities.

Why Might the New York Rangers Win?

The Rangers are on a four-game winning streak and crushing their opponents on both sides of the puck. They can continue this dominance and winning streak with strong goaltending and defense.

The Rangers have done something very rare in their previous two games. They have won by shutout twice in a row. This does not happen and should not be taken lightly. New York was able to do this in large part because of their goaltending. Shesterkin was in the net during the first shutout, and Jaroslav Halak was in the net during the second. Whoever gets the start must continue performing at the highest level.

The Rangers have only given up seven regulation goals in their previous five games. This is partially because of strong goaltending (as I mentioned above), but it is also because of the dominant defense. The Rangers’ defensemen have been on their A-game and limiting opposing teams’ shots. They must continue playing this well in this matchup.

Hurricanes Key Player: (C) Sebastian Aho

Sebastian Aho is one of a few good choices for this honor. However, I picked Aho because he is the Hurricanes’ leading goal-scorer. The center has  30 goals in 61 games this season and had a hat trick in his previous game. I do not expect him to have another hat trick this game, but I do expect at least one goal, if not two. If Aho continues his goal-scoring ways, the Hurricanes will have a chance.

Rangers Key Player: (G) Igor Shesterkin

Igor Shesterkin got the night off in the Rangers' previous game, so he will start today. Shesterking is the definition of reliable. He is not an excellent netminder but he does not give up more than three goals a game very often. He is having a solid month of March and has only allowed 2.1 goals per game in this time. 

Shesterking must continue to be a brick wall in the net, and the Rangers will be in a good shape.

How to Watch Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers

• What: Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers

• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

• When: Tuesday, March 21, 7:00 PM EST

• How to Watch: NHLPP, ESPN+