The Carolina Hurricanes face the New York Rangers with both teams looking to build off great starts to the season. The Hurricanes have a 25-6-6 record and with 11 wins in a row have leaped into first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers have a 20-12-6 record and with seven wins in their last 10 games, they have jumped to the top of the Metropolitan Division. Both teams are looking to remain near the top of the division and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game looks to be a great one as a result.
The Hurricanes are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.11 goals per game with nine goals in the last two games. Martin Necas, Sebastian Aho, and Andrei Svechnikov have scored 47 goals and 61 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the forward unit has also stepped up. Seth Jarvis, Jordan Martinhook, and Stefan Noesen have combined for 23 goals and 35 assists while defensemen Brent Burns and Brady Skjei have added 10 goals and 31 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has carried the Hurricanes, allowing only 2.54 goals per game with only four goals in the last three games. Burns and Skjei have combined for 5.5 defensive point shares and 70 blocked shots while Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin, and Jalen Chatfield have combined for 6.7 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. Moreover, goaltender Pyotr Kochet kov has been remarkable with a .928 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average on 389 shots.