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Rangers played a very physical game against Tampa last night. Let's take advantage of this. Last Time Out: Despite the first career multi-goal game for Seth Jarvis, the Canes fell in a shootout to the Washington Capitals on Friday. Alex Ovechkin tied the game with a late third period power play goal and then won it in the skills competition for his team's third victory over Carolina this season. Antti Raanta stopped 37 out of 40 in the losing effort. Injury Report: Neither Jordan Martinook nor Tony DeAngelo played for Carolina Friday, each on their own end of the injury spectrum. Martinook went down awkwardly in the corner Thursday night in the team's contest against Toronto and there was no further information available ahead of the contest against Washington. On the DeAngelo front, the defenseman has been a game-time decision for the last several outings. #77 has been on the verge of returning after suffering a core injury on Monday, February 21 in Philadelphia. Home Ice Advantage: Carolina enters tonight with points in 14 consecutive home games (12-0-2). Should they achieve one again today, they'll match the team's franchise record, set in 2005-06, with 15 in a row. Their 23 wins at home this season rank tied for third in the NHL and overall the team has points in 26 of 30 games played at PNC Arena this season. In The Crease: The Canes have alternated between Raanta and Frederik Andersen for their last five contests, and with Raanta having played against Washington on Friday, that would suggest that today might be Andersen's turn. "Freddie" suffered the loss against Toronto in his last time out, allowing three goals on 21 shots. Through 40 starts this season, the All-Star netminder is 30-9-2. Serial Killers: The Hurricanes went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill versus Washington Friday, and they are now 67-for-74 on the kill over their last 23 games (1/25-3/13: 90.5%). Despite facing 3.46 opposing power plays per game, tied with Nashville for the league high, Carolina leads the NHL in penalty kill percentage (89.1%), with the second-best kill on home ice (91.4%, CGY: 93.8%). New York enters Sunday's matchup with the league's second-best power play (27.0%), third best on the road (25.6%). Tro's Touch: Forward Vincent Trocheck enters tonight on a four-game point streak. After scoring Friday night, he now has a pair of goals and assists since last Saturday's win over the Flyers. New York South: The Canes have six players that have all played for the Rangers over the course of their careers. Brady Skjei, Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, Brendan Smith, Raanta and DeAngelo have all been members of the club within the last several seasons. A Look At The Other Side: New York was in Tampa last night, coming from behind to earn a 2-1 victory. The Lightning were ahead 1-0 after 20 minutes of play but a power play goal by Mike Zibanejad with 16 seconds to go in regulation ultimately served as the game-winner. 6-4 in their last ten, the Rangers will start Alex Georgiev in goal tonight. Forwards: Teravainen - Aho - Jarvis Svechnikov - Trocheck - Necas Lorentz - Staal - Fast Kotkaniemi - Stepan Defensemen: Slavin - DeAngelo Skjei - Pesce Smith - Cole Bear Starting Goalie: Andersen Injuries: Martinook Suspended: Niederreiter

I watch occasionally and the end of last season was a train wreck from a rules perspective. I'm a McClaren guy with Ricciardo and Lando Norris.

Svech got hooked on his breakaway- no call. Wilson hit Raanta in the mask with his tick in the crease- no call. OT

Hate to do the "I told you so..." but, in this case:

The Caps curb-stomped Carolina both times they've met this season and, to be honest, I have little expectation for a Hurricanes squad that historically plays terrible on the end of a back-to-back. Raanta in net tonight, I'm sure, following a disappointing night with Freddie. Maybe TDA will be back tonight, we'll see....... or not. Gotta be honest, I hate the Caps like I hate the Yankees. I think Alexander Putin is a smug, cherry-picking asshat who isn't half the player of the Great One or Gordie Howe. Tom Wilson is a thug who should have been tossed from the league after about his 12th suspension. I probably will just check in on the game occasionally while I'm doing other stuff with the sun shining a little longer these days.

That's pretty deep, Scot. A whole new level of "obscure references." And who tried to kiss who?

THAT was fugging funny.

Sorry, I missed that. He was traded? Oops, yeah, I see that.

Fug that. Hard to think after a few years of ownership, David Tepper - who's worth $16B - would let money stand between Panthers and winning.

Actually, remembering any 2 plays by any player all season is a big whoop!

Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield or Matt Ryan.... Please pick up the white courtesy phone.....

Unless the (as yet unnamed) franchise QB is getting sacked 5 times a game.

Cole Beasley incoming.....

Slavin is one of the best D-men in the league, but he and Bear running the PP is a far cry from what TDA brings to the point.

These guys may be headed into a 4-game slide. Washington tomorrow, Rangers and TB coming. That 8-point division lead will be gone by Monday.

2 PPs were terrible. Shots were thru the roof, but most of them were from distance. The best chances they had were with net front. It's gonna take strong play in front of this guy to get a puck past him.

I'm headed west in May to the San Diego area for the first time in about 20 years. I left at the end of 1992 because I saw the writing on the wall where the only thing keeping LA and SD from becoming one is Camp Pendleton. Traffic sucked, real estate thru the roof, and way too many people. My 50th HS reunion is in 2 years- I thought about that, but I kept up with none of them after I graduated.

I want to see Carolina dominate this game from beginning to end. I want to see 200' of hockey tonight. I want 2 points tonight. Last Time Out: The second half of a weekend back-to-back did not go the way of the Canes, as Pittsburgh earned their first victory over Carolina this season. Brett Pesce scored on his way to a career-high seven shots on goal and Sebastian Aho scored in the third period for a third straight game, but ultimately it was a pair of empty net goals that pushed the Penguins to the 4-2 final. In The Crease: Frederik Andersen will start tonight against his former club. Rod Brind'Amour said that it was his turn when speaking to reporters on Wednesday, so not a whole lot of thought needed to go into the situation. This will be Andersen's first time playing in Toronto with more than a crowd of 500, which was the case back on February 7 when Carolina traveled to Scotiabank Arena for the first time. Opposite Andersen will be rookie Erik Källgren, who recorded a 35-save shutout in his first NHL start on Tuesday over Dallas. 100 For Stevie: Steven Lorentz is set to play in his 100th NHL game tonight. Lorentz has already played in a career-high 54 games at the highest level this season and is in his second season with the club. At Home On The Road: Carolina's 18 (18-9-3) wins away from PNC Arena this season ranked tied for second in the NHL. Go Fish: Sebastian Aho enters tonight with point in five straight games and goals in three straight games. Good Through The End: The Canes have a +33 goal differential in third periods thus far this season. With that being the best in the NHL, Carolina has outscored their opponents 74-41 in the last 20 minutes of games. #88 Against Toronto: Having played the Maple Leafs four times in his career, Martin Necas has earned seven points in those meetings. With three goals and four assists, the third-year pro picked up an assist in the February 7 get together. Red On The Road: Toronto will be wearing their white St. Pats uniforms in honor of the St. Patrick's Day holiday tonight, so the Canes will be wearing red on the road for the first time this season. A Look At The Other Side: Toronto is 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Their 21 wins on home ice rank fourth in the NHL. They'll be without leading scorer Auston Matthews tonight, who is serving the second game in his two-game suspension.

"Tepper is a wild card, though. He doesn’t like to lose." After this much time, you'd think he's used to it by now.....

No idea it was this significant an injury. https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article259430764.html Hurricanes’ Brendan Smith details the puck to the head that fractured his skull. The paralysis lasted only a few seconds, but for Brendan Smith, it seemed longer. “An eternity,” he said Tuesday. The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman was hit by a puck behind the left ear, just underneath his helmet, as he attempted to block a shot Feb. 20 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Doctors later would tell him he suffered a fracture of the mastoid bone. They also told him it could have been a lot worse. “I got lucky,” Smith said. “Someone is looking after me up there. The doctor said, yeah, it’s a tough injury but it’s kind of a blessing it was where it was.” But at first, Smith said he had no feeling in his arms and legs. That’s what he told Canes trainer Doug Bennett as Bennett quickly bolted onto the ice. A lot of fear can fill a few seconds. “Then it was like everything came back — my legs, my feet, my hands and everything,” Smith said. “That was a really good feeling. I was able to skate off and I didn’t think anything was broken or anything. I was able to recognize where I was. I was with it. “Then we went to the doctor and there was bad news.” The good news: Smith’s recovery has been relatively quick. After missing the past 10 games, he was medically cleared Tuesday and joined a limited Canes practice at PNC Arena. Smith, 33, said does not yet have full hearing in his ear but was able to joke, “I can deal with that. Just yell a little louder.” He also noted that he could have taken the puck in the jaw and broken it. “Then we’re talking months of eating through a straw,” he said. Smith’s injury was followed the next game by an upper-body injury to defenseman Tony DeAngelo against Philadelphia. Missing two D-men, the Canes recalled Jalen Chatfield from Chicago of the AHL while readjusting the power-play units — Jaccob Slavin replaced DeAngelo as the quarterback on one unit while Ethan Bear took over for Slavin on the second. DeAngelo, out for nine games, returned to practice Tuesday but has not been cleared to play. Chatfield has been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves. “We have a good group and obviously they’ve been playing really hard and really well, and you see a guy like ‘Chatty’ jump up — I mean, he’s an NHL defenseman in my mind,” Smith said. Then came the shot by Danton Heinen of the Pens that fractured his skull. In a sport and at a position where injuries are both expected and plentiful, Smith said this was the worst of his 11-year career. “It’s a tough injury and tough to come back,” Canes assistant coach Tim Gleason said Tuesday. “The way he went down, it’s tough to watch and re-watch. It tells you he’s willing to do whatever it takes (to return).” Smith said he will wear extra protective equipment in games. But he’s ready to get back in the lineup as the Canes gear up to play three games in four days beginning with their road game Thursday in Toronto. And blocking shots? Smith’s ready for that, too, if need be. “My wife had some conversations with me about that but I’ll be out there blocking shots,” he said. “Nothing’s going to change. My game doesn’t change.”

I heard the same thing from Greg Hardy.

I'll take the owner to be named at a later date.

Okay. I did really laugh at this....

Thoughts and prayers......