Gold: Canes on verge of the clincher in New York City

By Adam Gold radio host 99.9 the Fan

Two weeks ago the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden and it seemed as though the 4-point margin that created might be enough to sew up the division. But, losses to Detroit and Colorado coupled with a pair of New York wins eliminated that advantage. Since then, the Canes have won four straight and they head back to Broadway back up by four.

The Hurricanes have a magic number of 3 to wrap up the Metropolitan Division. And, that actually shrinks to 2 if they win either of their remaining games in regulation. Any combination of Hurricanes points earned plus Rangers points denied that equals 3 puts up a banner at PNC Arena.

And, because of tie-breaking scenarios, the Canes could lose at the Garden tonight but still clinch the division with a regulation win over the Devils on Thursday. But, that isn’t what the Hurricanes want. Carolina would like to take care of business tonight and they can do that with a win.

This is the 4th meeting of the season between these two teams. Carolina took the first meeting, 6-3, in Raleigh in January. The Rangers escaped a 44-18 shots on goal disadvantage two months later with a 2-0 win at PNC Arena. Then, two weeks ago at MSG, the Canes scored three times in the 3rd period in a 4-2 victory.

One big difference for the Hurricanes is that Frederik Andersen started all three of those games. Thanks to the lower body injury he suffered in Colorado he won’t complete the quad in the season’s penultimate game. Actually, we’re not completely sure who will get the start against New York since Antti Raanta left Sunday’s game against the Islanders after sustaining a lower body injury midway through the second period.

Rookie Pyotr Kochetkov came off the bench, and though he did allow a power play goal, was otherwise solid and picked up the win as the Canes won it, 5-2. As of now, Carolina hasn’t yet made a roster move which means that Raanta would at least be fit enough to back up the 22-year old Russian. The expectation is still that Pyotr would get the net tonight, giving Raanta a little more time to be sure of his fitness.

But, there is a more long-term view of starting Kochetkov against the Rangers. Raanta has not proven that he can stay healthy long enough – or free of cramping, as was the apparent issue Sunday – to be relied upon for a long playoff run. His talent is there, but his durability is somewhere in Rauma, Finland. Therefore, tonight would provide some understanding of what we could expect from the rookie if his services are needed in the playoffs.

Reports of Andersen’s imminent return are, at best, premature at this time. The belief is that he will be available at some point during the playoffs, but it’s very much a long shot that he’ll be ready next week. The better bet, if not best-case, is that Andersen would need a couple more weeks to work back from his injury and he might be ready by the end of the opening round or, more likely, the conference semi finals.

Of course, the truth is that because it’s a lower body injury and Andersen is a goalie, it’s sort of like predicting the weather in the summer here in North Carolina. Meaning, (shoulder shrug emoji).

Vincent Trocheck is back in the lineup after a rest day against the Islanders. Steven Lorentz will come out of the forward group. Jesperi Kotkaniemi is still not ready to return so expect either Derek Stepan or Max Domi to center that 4th line. Ian Cole draws back in and will play with Brendan Smith on the 3rd defensive pair as Ethan Bear comes out of the line up.

A Carolina win would mean the first time since the 2010-11 season that they will beat the Rangers in a season series. The Canes have split the regular season with New York a few times, but their 2-0-2 mark 11 years ago was the last time the Hurricanes actually beat the Blue Shirts over the course of the year.

ML: Rangers -120/Hurricanes even. O/U: 5.5 goals

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