Carolina Hurricanes

NEW YORK — First place in the Metropolitan Division was on the line Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden as the New York Rangers aimed to leapfrog the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. When the horn sounded, though, the Hurricanes had further padded their cushion, taking a four-point lead over the second-place Rangers. 

The Rangers might be a team on the rise—they had won three straight heading into Tuesday's game—but the Hurricanes proved they're still a step ahead.

It's April in the NHL, which means games carry increased magnitude as teams jostle for playoff positioning. The Rangers and Hurricanes have both clinched playoff spots and are almost assured home-ice advantage in the first round, but Carolina's 4-2 victory Tuesday demonstrated the Hurricanes' ability to push back and hold their ground, even against a hot, talented opponent on the road. 

Freddie Andersen Has Great Stickhandling Skills...And Is a Darn Good Goalie

Frederik Andersen has been a revelation for the Hurricanes this season. After struggling last season with the Maple Leafs, the 32-year-old netminder has found his best form in Carolina, posting career-highs in goals against average (2.07) and save percentage (.926).

On Tuesday, he went toe-to-toe with Vezina favorite Igor Shesterkin in a goalie matchup Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said featured two of the league's best.

GG toys with us, says there's "a good chance" the top two goalies in the league are playing tonight. (Igor and Freddie Andersen are tied with the league's best GAA, at 2.07)

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinSNewsday) April 12, 2022

The Rangers spent a good chunk of the first period in the offensive zone, including a pair of power plays, but Andersen kept them scoreless. He ultimately stopped 28 of 30 shots Tuesday night, with a large chunk of his saves coming amid that first-period barrage from the Rangers. Andersen's play kept the Hurricanes afloat until the offense was able to find its footing and make an aggressive push to tally three third-period goals.

"We were really poor to start the game," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We turned the puck over in our own end 12 times on our sticks. So that just sets up their game. We didn't give up a ton, but it was too much in our zone, and we found it in the third period. Freddie kept us in there, made some saves when he had to and had a good third period." 

The Canes have finally found their No. 1 netminder.

They've been a top team in the league going back to the 2018-19 season when they reached the Eastern Conference Final, but their goaltending has been inconsistent. Petr Mrazek ended their nine-year playoff drought in 2019 and helped pilot them there again in 2020 with James Reimer filling in the gaps. Alex Nedeljkovic was a Calder Award finalist last season, but the two parties couldn't come to an agreement on a long-term contract, and Carolina traded him to the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings.

Andersen had been bumped out of the top spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs by the end of last season. His move to a smaller market has allowed him to fly underneath the radar while rediscovering his game. This version of Andersen looks more like the one who won a Jennings Trophy in Anaheim in 2016. And he looks even better than when he put up a .916 save percentage over his first four seasons in Toronto. 

As it turns out, he's even a pretty good puck-handler, too. He played the puck at the blue line as he came off the ice for a delayed penalty in one of the most entertaining moments of Tuesday's game. 

Freddie's got handles?? 👀 @Canes https://t.co/ksZek1Xsxc

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 13, 2022

"I just felt the puck came to me and I wanted to try and keep it alive," Andersen said. "It's a little bit of a free play. As soon as (the Rangers) touch it they'll freeze it down, so I had a little freedom. It was fun to touch it up there."

It certainly got the bench fired up and Brind'Amour questioning his goalie's knowledge of the rules. 

"He can't cross the (red line) or we get a penalty, so I'm like 'Oh man,' hoping he knows that," Brind'Amour said. "It's a pretty low-risk play because it was a delayed penalty. I thought it was funny and the boys enjoyed it, that's for sure."

Canes' PK Shuts Down Rangers' Dangerous Power Play

The power play is where the Blueshirts typically shine, with the second-best conversion percentage in the league (25.9 percent). After the pair of chances in the first period, they had another power-play opportunity in each of the second and third periods.

But the Canes killed off all four of those extra-man opportunities.

For Brind'Amour, the penalty kill was the true star of the contest.

"That to me is the game," Brind'Amour said. "Was it four, maybe? It felt like 10. Every time they get one you worry because they are so lethal. If they score on that, it's a totally different game. They had a couple of chances but I thought that for the amount of time we were on the kill we did a pretty good job."

This is the type of game we can expect from the Hurricanes moving into the postseason: an aggressive push, strong special teams and reliance on Andersen to keep everyone calm.  

Chris Kreider and the Rangers Are Going to Be a Tough Out in the Playoffs

If this was a potential second-round playoff preview, we know one thing is clear: the Rangers aren't going to go down so easily.

The Rangers have myriad weapons, sure, but any team with a 50-goal scorer is going to cause problems in the postseason. Kreider scored No. 50 with under two minutes left on Tuesday to pull New York back within one. 

After Kreider's goal, the Hurricanes iced the game with an empty-netter by Sebastien Aho, but the Rangers' late tally was enough to put a scare in the Metropolitan Division leaders. 

The Rangers are a tight group heading into the playoffs, one that believes they're never out of a game. New York has 26 comeback wins this season, and that tenacity is a valuable postseason trait.

"We’ve got some absolutely incredible people in that room who were pulling for me, and that means the world," Kreider said.  

Tuesday's game gave us an idea of what both of these teams are capable of in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, the Metro Division hasn't quite been decided yet. Both teams have eight games remaining, including the fourth and final matchup of their season series (Carolina leads 2-1) on April 26 again at The Garden—a game that could decide the division winner.

Let the drama commence.

We’re in the dog days of the 2021-22 NHL regular season. The cellar-dwelling teams are beating each other up in meaningless games while the top teams in each conference jostle for Stanley Cup Playoff positioning. 

The Eastern Conference playoff grouping has been set for months, with the only thing left to determine is the final bracket. Over in the Western Conference, the wild card has yet to be determined. The Vegas Golden Knights could potentially miss the playoffs for the first time since the franchise’s history. The Vancouver Canucks still have an outside chance of leapfrogging Vegas and Dallas for that last wild-card spot. 

And, of course, there is always a chance the high-powered Golden Knights get some of their firepower back and manage to pull ahead of the Los Angeles Kings to save their season. 

Lots of scenarios are still in play. 

Matchups are everything in the playoffs. Unlike in the regular season, when weaknesses can be minimized in a single game, a seven-game series allows some teams to exploit another's weakness or neutralize the opposition's strength. It's enough time to figure out how to pick apart a power play and how a goalie moves.Br

Sometimes two teams match up well, but other times it's a disastrous draw. 

Here are five matchups that fall into the latter category and why. 

New York Rangers: Pittsburgh Penguins

The New York Rangers will successfully take the next step in their rebuild when they return to the playoffs (technically, they only reached the postseason portion of the 2020 bubble tournament and not the playoff portion, failing to make it out of the qualifying round) for the first time since 2017.

They have a lineup full of elite talent at the top and emerging young stars throughout, plus a goalie who should be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in Igor Shesterkin.

The lineup has also done a good job of limiting chances in front of Shesterkin, and their power play is exceptionally good, with the Blueshirts' 26.6 percent conversion being the second-best in the NHL.

The top unit with the man advantage might be one of the best, with Chris Kreider (the third-leading scorer in the league), Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Mika Zibanejad and defending Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox. The addition of Andrew Copp to the second unit has given them a tougher net-front presence, but that second unit doesn't see a whole lot of time since the top one takes care of business. 

However, the Rangers generate surprisingly little offense at 5-on-5, ranking toward the bottom of the league in Corsi, scoring chances and expected goals for. New York typically wins by winning the special teams battle and goaltending, making its Metropolitan Division foes in the Pittsburgh Penguins, the least penalized team in the NHL this season, its most potentially daunting challenge.

The Penguins also have the second-best penalty kill in the league and a ton of postseason experience. The Rangers' leaders aren't completely devoid of playoff experience, but it's tough to match that of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jeff Carter and even former Ranger Brian Boyle. 

Maybe this is where we see the changing of the guard, with the Rangers overcoming their even-strength issues and their young players knocking off the legendary vets, especially since the Rangers are 3-1-0 against Pittsburgh this season and have outscored the Penguins 11-4.

But on paper, this isn't a good matchup. 

Colorado Avalanche: Vegas Golden Knights

The Colorado Avalanche have been playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights last season. A meeting again in early rounds would be a nightmare for reasons other than just the statistical matchup because the Avs have been the better team all season.

Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty could get healthy enough for the playoffs when the salary cap doesn't matter, and the club would be out of the woods with the cap constraints. That would give Vegas an even deeper lineup than they had last spring when they knocked out Colorado in six games since Jack Eichel has joined the club.

The Avs have been the favorites in the Western Conference all season but have dealt with their own injury issues, with captain Gabriel Landeskog currently on injured reserve while he recovers from knee surgery. Nazem Kadri, who is second on the team with 83 points, is expected to return by the playoffs.

However, should Colorado continue to struggle with injuries and run into a fully healthy Golden Knights squad, they may struggle to avenge their playoff disappointment from a season ago.

Questions will be asked about last year's series, but Vegas has been a contender for four years. It's time for the Avs to show that they're a top team when it matters, and to do that, they may once again have to face off against Vegas.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Tampa Bay Lightning

If you’re looking at playoff history, as we just did above, you might be thinking the worst opponent for the Toronto Maple Leafs would be the Boston Bruins. The Leafs have lost their last six postseason series against Boston dating back to 1969.

The 2019 first-round loss still stings, but this is a better, deeper Leafs team that has a different coach, a different goalie and plays much better defense.

Instead, the nightmare matchup for Toronto would be the Tampa Bay Lightning. To be fair, the Lightning are a nightmare team for anyone to face. They haven't lost a postseason series since 2019, and they're still the champions until someone knocks them off.

These are two elite teams that would make for a great series.

Tampa Bay has the best quite possibly the best goaltender in the world in Andrei Vasilevskiy, a proven coach in Jon Cooper and a deep lineup.

The team lost its entire third line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow, as well as other players from those two Stanley Cup teams like Tyler Johnson, and hasn't missed a beat.

In Toronto, Auston Matthews has quickly become one of the most prolific scorers of this generation and is the type of game-breaking player that can make a difference in the playoffs. He scored his 55th goal of the season on Thursday night to set the Leafs' single-season record and the most for a U.S.-born NHL player.

Meanwhile, Mitch Marner has surpassed the 30-goal benchmark for the first time in his career.

Yet Matthews and Marner disappeared during their seven-game series with the Montreal Canadien last season. The Lightning have the defenders to neutralize even the best scorers, including Ryan McDonagh, who is expected to return as soon as this weekend. 

Meeting in the first round is a realistic scenario given the current Atlantic Division standings. There is immense pressure on Toronto to get out of the first round, and this is an opponent who can bring the pressure on and off the ice.

Much like the Colorado-Vegas matchup, this one is less about the statistics and more about the storyline and the narratives that surround the Leafs and Lighting.

Los Angeles Kings: Calgary Flames

The Los Angeles Kings will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. A decade ago, it looked as though they had an emerging dynasty, but the culture fell apart, key veterans departed and former general manager Dean Lombardi tried to keep the window open a little too long, failing to recognize that it had already shut.

Finally, Lombardi's successor, Rob Blake, decided to blow it up and rebuild in 2019. Blake kept some of that championship core, and Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick remain.

He stockpiled talent and quickly built one of the most impressive prospect pools in hockey. He hired coach Todd McLellan to guide the team through the lean years and get them ready for a return to contention.

Los Angeles is ahead of schedule and currently sitting in third place in the Pacific Division with 86 points, a near-lock to make the playoffs. And there is a chance they could face a familiar face: Darryl Sutter, the coach that guided them to two Stanley Cups and the current coach of the Calgary Flames.

Sutter hockey has proven to be effective throughout the years, and the Flames are proof that it's still working. It might a low-event style of play, but Calgary is scoring 3.48 goals per game, good for sixth in the league, and they're the third-highest shot volume team at 5-on-5 in the NHL. 

The Kings don't have the defense to withstand an offensive attack from Calgary. If Alexander Edler returns, as he is expected to soon, it will add another proven defender to the blueline. However, the club is unsure when Doughty can return from an upper-body injury, and without him, Los Angeles may not have enough to stop Calgary's offense. 

The Los Angeles power play is also the least effective amongst teams in playoff contention, as its 16.6 percent mark is 28th in the league. The Flames, meanwhile, happen to be one of the best penalty-killing teams, killing off 83.4 percent of the opponent's power-play opportunities. 

No one knows Sutter hockey like the Kings, but now that Kopitar, Doughty, Brown and Quick are on the other side, it might not be as much fun. 

Boston Bruins: Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes have outscored the Boston Bruins 16-1 in three meetings this year. Granted, one of those games was one of Tuukka Rask's final games in the NHL, and it was a disaster. However, Linus Ullmark didn't fare much better against the Canes in February, allowing all six goals in a 6-0 loss.

This matchup could be similar to a Kings-Flames series in that Carolina is a high shot-volume team, and Boston may not have the defense to contain their attack.

The Bruins added Hampus Lindholm at the trade deadline to deepen the blueline, and this team has been good at limiting scoring chances throughout the season.

They'll have to decide which goaltender to go with during the playoffs because a tandem is never really an effective plan past the regular season. They have two very good options in Jeremy Swayman and Ullmark, though, the latter of whom has played much better lately, going 6-0-0 with a .938 save percentage in his last seven games.

However, it's tough to argue with how many weapons Carolina has up front. This is an exceptionally deep team, especially at forward, where they can roll all four lines and overwhelm teams with the volume and quality of shots. They have defensemen with shutdown abilities like Brett Pesce and two who can jump into offensive plays in Jaccob Slavin and Tony DeAngelo.

It's a tough match for the Bruins, who have similar high-end talent but not as much as Carolina, especially on the blueline.

The Carolina Hurricanes are heading back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth straight season. 

OFFICIAL! WE'RE HEADED BACK TO THE PLAYOFFS! pic.twitter.com/7SKpNZ6xaZ

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 8, 2022

Surging into the postseason!! pic.twitter.com/2BoM9cBTb2

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 8, 2022

Carolina clinched a spot in the 2022 postseason with a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at PNC Arena. With the win, the Hurricanes moved to 46-17-8 to stay atop the Metropolitan Division standings. 

Here's a look at the updated Eastern Conference standings:

---

Metropolitan Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes: 46-17-8, 100 points
2. New York Rangers: 46-20-6, 98 points
3. Pittsburgh Penguins: 41-21-10, 92 points

---

Atlantic Division 

1. Florida Panthers: 49-15-6, 104 points
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: 45-19-6, 96 points
3. Boston Bruins: 44-21-5, 93 points

---

Wild Card

1. Tampa Bay Lightning: 43-20-7, 93 points
2. Washington Capitals: 38-22-10, 86 points

---

The Hurricanes have spent most of the 2021-22 season atop the Metropolitan Division standings thanks to Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen offensively.

Aho leads the team with 33 goals and 38 assists for 71 points, while Svechnikov has 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points and Teravainen has 19 goals and 39 assists for 58 points. 

In addition, the Hurricanes have received excellent depth scoring from Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordan Staal. Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei and Tony DeAngelo have led the pack defensively. 

Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta have also combined to form one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL. They entered Thursday's game against the Sabres with a league-best 2.37 goals-against average.

The Hurricanes are aiming to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006. However, they'll face a difficult path to the Stanley Cup Final, with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a possible first-round opponent. 

Despite sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division, the Bolts are primed to win their third straight Stanley Cup behind Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. 

The Florida Panthers, meanwhile, have been the best team in the Eastern Conference all season and have already clinched a playoff spot, and the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins all have at least 92 points.

The road to the Stanley Cup goes through Florida. That became even more apparent at the 2022 NHL trade deadline Monday. 

Whether or not the top team in the Eastern Conference comes from the gulf side of Alligator Alley or the East Coast side of the Sunshine State, the additions made by the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning have put the teams in prime position to play deep into the postseason and beat each other up in the Eastern Conference Final. 

The Eastern Conference playoff spots have been locked up for months. All that's left is to jockey for playoff positioning. All of the East teams got better, but they're all still chasing the two Florida clubs. 

The goal shouldn't be to get into the playoffs, it should be to win the Stanley Cup. Sometimes postseason experience can benefit young players, but oftentimes, if teams that aren't ready to contend for a Cup end up in the postseason, it only sets them back. Some clubs—such as the Anaheim Ducks—wisely understood that and decided not to buy to try to grab a wild-card spot. 

Instead, some of the Ducks' top players ended up on Eastern Conference teams. Will they be enough to make a difference? Did any franchise do enough to cross over into that contender territory?

Let's unpack some of the most impactful trades and see how the teams in the deeper of the two conferences stack up. 

---

The Contenders: Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes 

The Florida Panthers have pushed all of their chips to the center of the table.

Which, honestly, is what a team scoring more than 4.0 goals per game and leading the league in shot volume should do. Florida was marred by chaos in the front office and behind the bench for years, with the Panthers famously leaving coach Gerard Gallant at the curb after firing him in 2016.

Joel Quenneville resigned in October during the investigation of the Chicago Blackhawks' handling of sexual assault allegations from former player Kyle Beach, and Andrew Brunette has deftly guided the team to the top of the conference. 

The Panthers already have elite talent at nearly every position, but the rich got richer with the additions of defenseman Ben Chiarot and forward Claude Giroux, who is having an All-Star season. The former Flyers captain used his no-trade protection to engineer a deal to the Panthers.

"I’m here to win. I’m here to help the team win," he told reporters in his opening press conference. "I think this team has a great chance to go far in the playoffs."

For the second year in a row, the biggest nemesis for the two-time Stanley Cup champions in Tampa was the salary cap. But still, Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois found a way to maneuver around it and make additions.

Brandon Hagel cost first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 and rookie forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, but he has two years on his contract before restricted free agency, which basically means four years of team control.

The club is hoping he's its 2022 version of Blake Coleman, the under-the-radar power forward it acquired from the New Jersey Devils at the 2020 deadline. They also brought in forward Nick Paul from the Ottawa Senators and fit him under the cap thanks to his previous club's willingness to retain 44.5 percent of his salary, per ESPN.

The Carolina Hurricanes only made one notable deal, acquiring Max Domi right at the deadline in a three-team trade with the Panthers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus sent Domi and a 2022 sixth-round pick (which was previously acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs) to the Panthers for defenseman Tyler Inamoto, and then traded Inamoto to Carolina for defenseman Aidan Hreschuk, while Florida sent Domi to the 'Canes for Egor Korshkov.

Are you following yet?

Even if you're not, what you need to know is that the all-offense Domi will be moved to the wing, which is probably where he's most effective. The question is whether he can get along with coach Rod Brind'Amour, considering his issues with coaches Claude Julien and John Tortorella. 

These teams didn't need to make big moves, but they did because good clubs use the trade deadline to get better. 

---

Could Make a Run: Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins 

Not only did the Toronto Maple Leafs fail to address their goaltending situation, but they also lost Harri Sateri on waivers. However, Petr Mrazek cleared waivers, so it's status quo for Toronto in net, though not for lack of effort.

Toronto GM Kyle Dubas had conversations with the Blackhawks about Marc-Andre Fleury, and they were leaked to the media, which he was clearly unhappy about. 

“I’m disappointed that that conversation is public,” Dubas said of Darren Dreger's report. “I’m not criticizing you, I’ve just never had that before where these specifics like that have been made public. I think, frankly, that’s probably a conversation to ask Kyle Davidson on his availability in Chicago.”

However, they did address a big need on the blue line by bringing in Mark Giordano and added to the forward depth with Colin Blackwell in a trade with the Seattle Kraken. 

A Toronto native, Giordano isn't exactly isn't in his prime at age 38, but he's still an effective, respected defenseman, and it reunites him with his former Calgary Flames defense partner, TJ Brodie. It was a necessary move with Rasmus Sandin (knee) and Jake Muzzin (concussion) injured.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins made big improvements thanks to Anaheim. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm was traded to Boston and subsequently signed to an eight-year deal. The Bruins gave up a lot to get Lindholm, and for good reason—the 28-year-old is a mobile puck-mover with two-way abilities and was the top defenseman on the market. 

They also kept Jake DeBrusk, who requested a trade earlier this season. Nothing materialized after they had discussions about moving him, and they extended his contract for two years at $8 million.

"I’ve been having discussions on Jake for months. Today wasn’t any different in terms of where teams thought he fit into their group and what they were trying to do," general manager Don Sweeney said. "Some teams were down the road on other things, and we’ll pivot back maybe. But it doesn’t really matter at this point. Like I said, sent a clear message to Jake and he sent one to us, that he just wants to play hockey. Bottom line is he knows he’s an important part if he plays to his capabilities, he’s going to help us and help himself."

The Penguins added Rickard Rakell, which gives the forward group a big weapon. He creates a lot of offense off the rush and is a responsible defender. He's scored 30 or more goals twice, though he's coming off a few down seasons. Some of that can be attributed to the Ducks' rebuild, and the 28-year-old should return to his old form with better linemates around him.

The biggest issue for the New York Rangers was depth. They boast a star-laden roster, but it had a steep drop-off in talent from the top two lines to the bottom two. First-year GM Chris Drury addressed that by adding Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte.

Veteran defenseman Justin Braun takes the pressure off rookie Braden Schneider. With salary-cap issues looming in the next few years, Drury did what he could to bring in rentals without sacrificing too much talent from an exceptionally deep prospect pool.

---

The Pretenders: Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals brought back Marcus Johansson, who played seven seasons in Washington, in a trade with the Seattle Kraken. General manager Brian MacLellan likes his familiarity with the system and the personnel.

"He knows our power play really well, he can come in and he's comfortable right away, in my mind," MacLellan said. "He knows how guys play, he knows what he can do to play with them. That was attractive in our mind. We'll work it out. We'll see what works in the lines, the coaches will have him, try him with different guys and see what role he can play with us."

But the problem with the Capitals is their goaltending. It's shaky at best, as Ilya Samsonov has underachieved, Vitek Vanecek was out with an upper-body injury and the team has filled the gaps with Zachary Fucale and Pheonix Copley. The Caps aren't the only team with questions in net, and the best defense in the NHL is offense, which the Caps do have. 

You could say the Leafs or the Bruins belong in this category, and you could make the argument that the Caps don't belong here. It's such a deep conference. Any of these teams could be capable of making a run, or they could get eliminated in the first round, like Tampa Bay in 2019.

There is plenty of time for teams to integrate their new players and plenty of time for things to go wrong, so let's drop the puck on the rest of the season. 

---

Advanced statistics via Natural Stat Trick. Salary-cap info via CapFriendly unless otherwise noted.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will hit the ice outdoors next season. 

The NHL announced Thursday the Hurricanes will host the Capitals in the 2023 Stadium Series at North Carolina State's Carter-Finley Stadium on Feb. 18, 2023.

The teams are also set to face off Thursday in Washington.

The NHL announced last month that the Hurricanes would host the 2023 Stadium Series at the home of the Wolfpack football team but didn't reveal their opponent.

Carolina was supposed to host the event in February 2021, but it was postponed because of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in February: "We're thrilled to finally get the chance to safely host an outdoor game in Raleigh. Our fans have waited for this event since we announced it two years ago, and we know that their passion and energy will create an unbelievable atmosphere at Carter-Finley."

This will be the first outdoor game for the Hurricanes. They will become the 28th NHL franchise to participate in a regular-season game outdoors. The Capitals, meanwhile, have competed in three other outdoor games, including two Winter Classics (2011, 2015) and another Stadium Series game (2018). 

The Hurricanes and Capitals have met in 179 regular-season games entering Thursday night. Washington is winning the all-time season series 101-55-23. 

Carolina leads the Eastern Conference at 37-11-5 this season, while Washington is 28-18-9 and in eighth place in the East.

The rosters of both teams could look significantly different by this time next year. However, Alexander Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson figure to remain leaders for Washington, while Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin will likely power Carolina. 

Tuesday night's game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild has been postponed because of the NHL's COVID-19 protocols.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan first reported the decision came after the Canes registered four positive coronavirus test results earlier in the day.

Carolina played against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. The Flames have since had three games postponed because six players and a staff member entered the league's COVID-19 protocols.

Calgary proceeded to play the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The Bruins placed Brad Marchand and Craig Smith in the protocol on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes placed Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and a staff member in protocols Monday. Today's positive tests bring the number of people on the Canes list to seven with Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo having returned to the active roster last week.

A sudden rise in COVID-19 cases around the league comes as players face a decision about whether to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Preliminary guidelines suggest they could face a five-week quarantine in China if they test positive during the Games in February.

"It is concerning when you hear about the three- to five-week quarantine, having to stay back and stay in China," the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron told reporters Tuesday. "I think there's a lot of questions right now that need to be answered, and that's how I feel about it. Obviously as an athlete I think you're torn because you want to be there and, as I said, the biggest sports event in the world."

The Olympics are scheduled to begin Feb. 4. The NHL, which barred participation in the 2018 Winter Games, said it would honor an agreement with the NHL Players' Association to let players go this time despite the rising coronavirus concerns.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are scheduled to play three home games in a span of four days beginning Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.

American Thanksgiving has passed, which means hockey fans are free to look at the standings.

The holiday serves as a benchmark that signals the unofficial start of playoff races. With two months of play complete and teams hitting the 20-game mark, we have an idea of team identities, strengths and areas that will be targeted as we approach the March 21 trade deadline.

We can start to determine which teams have chances and which teams do not.

But that isn't easy in the Metropolitan Division. The last-place team, the New York Islanders, was a game away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season. Metro teams hold the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, and two others are within four points. The Washington Capitals lead the NHL with 33 points, and the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers sit right behind them. It is an incredibly tight division.

No offense to the Atlantic Division, but if the Boston Bruins have any shot of making the playoffs, they will likely need to bump the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs or the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning out of a playoff spot in their division. The Bruins could still bring back free-agent goalie Tuukka Rask and make a run, but with so many good teams in the Metro Division, it's an uphill battle for everyone in the Eastern Conference. 

Each team in this division started the season with playoff hopes, except for maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets. But Columbus has improved quickly, which has made for a crowded division. It's difficult to handicap this race because so much of the season is left and things like injuries will factor into performances, so we'll look at each team and determine whether its playoff hopes are legitimate or not.

---

The teams at the top

Let's start with the three best. Carolina, Washington and the Rangers are pulling away from the rest of the division.

Alexander Ovechkin looks ageless with 19 goals. The captain netted a hat trick Friday against the Panthers, and while that might be standard for Ovi, it's not every day you see a 36-year-old score at that pace.

He's putting up 1.68 points per game, which ranks third in the NHL, and has recaptured some magic with Evgeny Kuznetsov. A reinvigorated Kuznetsov is important—for himself, considering the Caps looked into offloading him over the summer, but especially for the depleted lineup.

T.J. Oshie is out with a foot injury, Anthony Mantha is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, Lars Eller has been in COVID-19 protocol since Nov. 16, Nicklas Backstrom started the season on injured reserve after offseason hip surgery, and Conor Sheary and Justin Schultz are both day-to-day.

The subplot is Ovechkin's chase to match Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring record. He needs 145 to match the Great One's record of 894 goals, and with the way he's playing, he could knock off 30 more this season.

Carolina is one of the best possession teams in the league in 5-on-5. This has been the Hurricanes' calling card for a few years. It's a straightforward approach: Shoot the puck. A lot. The best defense in today's NHL is offense.

Buoyed by elite shooters like Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho, Carolina started the season winning nine straight. A plus-23 goal differential suggests these numbers are sustainable, and this has been an elite team for years.

Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta might not be an elite goaltending tandem, but Andersen is having a bounce-back season. Until he slips, the doubters can remain quiet. 

The Rangers have been among the worst teams in the league at 5-on-5. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, their 45.19 Corsi percentage is the lowest in the NHL. The bulk of their offense has come from Chris Kreider (15 goals). Only 37 of the team's 59 goals have been scored at even strength. But they're defending well and have had elite goaltending from Igor Shesterkin. 

The Rangers have made it known they would like to take the next step in their rebuild and make the playoffs. This could be the year, and it should with the high-end talent they possess, but they might be on the bubble with other teams on their heels.

---

The teams in the middle

A cluster of teams is within a few points of one another. The Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins each have 24 points. The New Jersey Devils have 22, and the Philadelphia Flyers have 20. The Blue Jackets and Devils are on the upswing, and the Flyers and Penguins appear to be hanging on, trying to stave off rebuilds. 

The Penguins are sticking around in the standings because of goalie Tristan Jarry. Last year, some blamed Jarry for Pittsburgh's lack of success. The club cleared the path for Jarry by parting ways with Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray, and many wondered if that was the right move, especially as Fleury played Vezina-caliber hockey in Las Vegas. 

Some of the criticism was valid, but Jarry is proving to be the No. 1 goalie the club envisioned he would be. 

After shutting out the Islanders on Friday, Jarry's .936 save percentage is tied for third in the league, and his mark of 9.63 goals saved above average is the third-best. His performance has been crucial considering the Penguins went without Sidney Crosby to start the season and Evgeni Malkin is still on IR. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wPZz2_Rlr4

The Devils and the Blue Jackets have a road map in place. They know where they want to go, and they're attempting to get there through talent development. New Jersey is seeing good results as players like Dawson Mercer and Yegor Sharangovich play big roles. When the Devils finally get Jack Hughes healthy again, they could be dangerous. 

But the Flyers are in a tough spot. They have lost six straight, and the season appears to be falling apart. The lack of roster depth has been exposed as injuries to key players like Ryan Ellis have piled up. Philadelphia is in a precarious spot and may need to blow it up and start trying to retain assets. It's right up against the salary cap, so it's tough for general manager Chuck Fletcher to make any moves that might improve the team in the short term.

The one good thing the Flyers have going for them is their draft capital. They have all but one pick each of the next two years. It's time for them to get younger, and they can do that with high picks and prospects. It might not be a palatable move, but Claude Giroux is in the final year of his contract, so trading the captain at the deadline might be a painful but necessary move.

---

The Islanders

What to make of the Islanders? Many (myself included) picked them to win the division. The team seemed poised for another long playoff run. A new arena. A top coach. This was supposed to be the year it came together.

It still could be. We know the Islanders are capable of reeling off five, six, seven or even eight wins at a time. Instead, they've lost eight straight. They're 5-10-2 with only 12 points.

How can a Stanley Cup contender be this bad?

You could start with COVID-19. The Isles have eight players in COVID protocol, and their next two games are postponed. The league was late on postponing games, forcing them to play with as many as seven players in protocol.

Plus, they're without defenseman Ryan Pulock because of injury, and Brock Nelson is hurt too. 

It's still early, but is it getting late early for the Islanders? This team has proved doubters wrong many times in the past. Barry Trotz and his system are never really out of the game. But with the division this competitive, one of the Eastern Conference favorites could be left out this spring.

The unlikely rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes took an interesting turn Thursday. 

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, the Hurricanes set up a website with the address DidTheHabsLose.com, and they directed their fans to it via social media after Thursday's 4-1 win over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

Unfortunately, there was a moment Friday morning when the site was hacked and turned into an anti-Carolina webpage. 

Hate us all you want, but don’t you dare insult @CookOut pic.twitter.com/VPR4nhxVhQ

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 22, 2021

According to Wyshynski, the original site "featured a banner photo with the word 'YES' in bold letters." The website also went beyond bragging about the victory and trolled the organization:

Underneath were two links to buy two Hurricanes player T-shirts: One for center Sebastian Aho, whom the Canadiens unsuccessfully attempted to sign away from Carolina with a free-agent offer sheet in 2019; and one for forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, whom the Hurricanes poached from Montreal via an offer sheet last offseason. The shirts were on sale for $20—which is Aho's number and Kotkaniemi's signing bonus - for anyone using the promo code 'oui.'"  

Thomas Williams of Yahoo Sports noted the website no longer exists, but it is still accessible through a web archive if any Hurricanes fans want to remember the moment. 

While not exactly a full-fledged rivalry, like the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Habs and Hurricanes could turn into a fun one to watch. Former Canadiens player Jesperi Kotkaniemi joined Carolina in the offseason after Montreal declined to match an offer sheet in restricted free agency. 

Based on how they reacted to Kotkaniemi on Thursday, fans are holding a grudge against him for leaving.

The 21-year-old got the last laugh during the game by scoring a goal in his return to Montreal. 

Some hacker got the ultimate measure of revenge on the Hurricanes, though it's unclear if that person is a Canadiens fan. 

Restricted free agent Jesperi Kotkaniemi has agreed to an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Saturday. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Montreal Canadiens will have seven days to decide if they want to match Carolina's offer. 

Kotkaniemi has spent the past three seasons with the Canadiens. He was originally selected third overall in the 2018 NHL draft by the team. 

Montreal announced on July 26 that Kotkaniemi was among six players who received a qualifying offer. 

Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement released about Kotkaniemi's offer sheet that the 21-year-old "wants to come to Carolina."

"He sees the core we've built here, and he wants to be a part of that," Waddell added. "We're proud, but there's still a waiting period. When you make an offer like that, we saw a vulnerable position."

There's no indication at this point about what the Canadiens will do. The club will receive a first- and third-round draft pick from Carolina in 2022 as compensation if they decide not to match Kotkaniemi's offer. 

Kotkaniemi has scored 62 points in 171 regular-season games in three seasons. The Finnish center had five goals and three assists in 19 playoff games to help the Canadiens reach the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. 

The Hurricanes won their first division title last season since the 2005-06 season. They lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning.    

The Carolina Hurricanes have announced a new eight-year deal with Andrei Svechnikov that will pay him an average of $7.75 million per year. 

"Andrei is one of the cornerstones of this organization, and we are thrilled to reach a long-term commitment to keep him here," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. "He is one of the brightest rising stars in our sport and will play a key role in our efforts to bring the Stanley Cup to the Triangle this decade."

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft, Svechnikov made an immediate impact for Carolina and already has 140 points in 205 career games. The 21-year-old finished last season with 15 goals and 27 assists in 55 appearances.

The right wing showed his ability to step up against top competition, totaling a goal and four assists in the second-round playoff loss against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning.

He played over 30 minutes in a double-overtime loss to the Nashville Predators during the first round.

Svechnikov has proved to be a reliable player who can help at both ends, finishing second on the team with 114 hits last season.

The young Russian was clearly set to become a key part of the franchise going forward, and Carolina responded by keeping him under team control through 2028-29.

The new annual salary will rank Svechnikov seventh among right wings in the NHL, per Spotrac.