The NHL returns on Saturday, August 1st, with their qualifying round and round-robin play. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a restart that will feature 24 teams competing for the Stanley Cup. The top four teams in each conference are competing in round-robin play to finalize the top four seeds. The next eight teams are competing in five-game seeded play to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers will face off in Toronto starting Saturday. The Hurricanes finished the abbreviated regular season with 81 points on a 38-25-5 record, which was good for the 6th seed. The Rangers finished the abbreviated regular season with 79 points on a 37-28-5 record, which was good for the 11th seed.
The Hurricanes are hoping to get back Dougie Hamilton, who fractured his fibula in January. He did not play in the team’s exhibition game after leaving practice last week. His status is unclear for the qualifying round. The team will welcome back Sami Vatanen after a lower body injury, but the bigger question is how the team will sort out Petr Mrazek vs. James Reimer in goal. The Hurricanes lost their exhibition game to Washington 3-2.
Meanwhile, the Rangers will have LW Chris Kreider available after a February foot injury. They lost to the Islanders 2-1 in their exhibition game.
Below is a full rundown of the Hurricanes-Rangers series and how to watch it. The NBC games are all available at NBCSports.com/live.
Hurricanes vs. Rangers series info
Saturday, Aug. 1: Rangers vs. Hurricanes, 12 p.m. | NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN, SN360, TVAS, FS-CR, MSG
Monday, Aug. 3: Rangers vs. Hurricanes, 12 p.m. | NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN, SN360, TVAS, FS-CR, MSG
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Hurricanes vs. Rangers, 8 p.m. | NBCSN, SN360, TVAS, MSG, FS-CR
Thursday, Aug. 6: Hurricanes vs. Rangers*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Rangers vs. Hurricanes*