Rangers at Hurricanes preview

RANGERS (0-2-0) at HURRICANES (1-0-1)
5 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG, NHL.TV

The Game

Coach David Quinn will look for his first NHL win when the New York Rangers play the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday.
The Rangers are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Forward Brett Howden scored his first NHL goal and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves in his second consecutive start. Alexandar Georgiev will start against Carolina.
The Hurricanes will try for their second straight win after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Friday. Curtis McElhinney, who was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, made 31 saves and Rod Brind'Amour won his first game as an NHL coach.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello has 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 27 games against Carolina.
Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, got his first NHL point with an assist against Columbus.

They said it

"It's not going to get any easier. We're going to [the Carolina Hurricanes]; it's a tough place to play. They're coming off a big win, so we've got to be ready. Learn from our mistakes and what we can do better and then we'll go into Carolina and try to get a win." -- Rangers defenseman Marc Staal
"[Our defensemen] have to be our best group. They've been great in the offense and the defensive end, too. A lot of new faces there that are still trying to figure out each other. I think they will continue to get better and better." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey -- Kevin Hayes -- Mats Zuccarello
Ryan Spooner -- Filip Chytil -- Jesper Fast
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Brett Howden
Brady Skjei -- Adam McQuaid
Brendan Smith -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Tony DeAngelo
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched:Vinni Lettieri, Fredrik Claesson, Cody McLeod
Injured:Matt Beleskey (separated shoulder), Boo Nieves (concussion)

Hurricanes projected lineup

Micheal Ferland -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele -- Jordan Staal -- Justin Williams
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Martin Necas -- Brock McGinn
Andrei Svechnikov -- Lucas Wallmark -- Jordan Martinook
Jaccob Slavin -- Dougie Hamilton
Calvin de Haan -- Justin Faulk
Trevor van Riemsdyk -- Brett Pesce
Petr Mrazek
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Haydn Fleury, Phillip Di Giuseppe
Injured:Scott Darling (lower body), Victor Rask (hand)

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. McGinn did not practice on Saturday, but Brind'Amour expects him to play.

Stat pack

Kreider has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 19 games against Carolina. … Aho has three points (two goals, one assist) in two games. Ferland has two points (one goal, one assist) in two games.