Carolina @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2019 ) Carolina 2, NY Rangers 6

The New York Rangers showed last time out that they intend to stay in the playoff race for as long as they can. The Rangers hope to remain in the chase for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference when they continue a five-game homestand Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

New York, which is nine points behind Pittsburgh for the second wild card, rallied from a 3-1 deficit on Wednesday to post a 4-3 shootout victory over Boston. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo set up Filip Chytil's game-tying power-play goal in the third period before scoring the decisive tally in the seventh round of the bonus format for the Rangers, who are 1-1-1 on their homestand. Carolina sits six points ahead of New York as it registered a 6-5 overtime triumph at Buffalo on Thursday after squandering a two-goal lead in the final 4:19 of the third period. Teuvo Teravainen completed a two-goal, three-point performance 3:25 into the extra session as the Hurricanes improved to 2-0-0 on their five-game road trip and 4-0-1 away from home since falling 6-2 in New York on Jan. 15.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, FS Carolinas, MSG Plus (New York)

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (27-21-6): Teravainen has recorded three multi-point performances in his last five games while collecting four goals and 10 assists over his last 11 contests. The 24-year-old Finn, who tallied in an 8-5 home win over the Rangers on Oct. 7, is two points shy of 200 for his career. Sebastian Aho, who has scored three goals and set up eight others over his last seven games, notched two assists on Thursday to set a new career high of 38 and move within one of 100 in the NHL.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (23-22-8): Mika Zibanejad, who already has set career highs in assists (31) and points (53), got within five of the personal-best goal total (27) he recorded last season by scoring against the Bruins. The 25-year-old Swede has landed on the scoresheet in nine of his last 10 contests and is riding a four-game point streak during which he has collected five tallies and four assists. Vinni Lettieri made his first appearance since Dec. 2 on Wednesday as he was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League after left wing Cody McLeod was traded to Nashville for a 2020 seventh-round draft pick.

OVERTIME

1. Rangers RW Mats Zuccarello has been wielding a hot stick, registering five goals and 10 assists during his nine-game point streak.

2. Carolina RW Nino Niederreiter has scored six goals in eight contests since being acquired from Minnesota on Jan. 17.

3. New York has played seven consecutive one-goal games (4-2-1) since routing Carolina on Jan. 15.

PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Hurricanes 2