Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Rangers Picks and Predictions April 12th 2025

Rangers Cling to Playoff Hopes in Must-Win Clash With Hurricanes

The New York Rangers are staring elimination in the face—and they’ll need their best performance of the season to survive Saturday afternoon when they visit the playoff-bound Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.

The Rangers (37-35-7, 81 points) are eight points behind Montreal for the final wild-card spot in the East and could be eliminated before puck drop if the Canadiens earn at least a point Friday against Ottawa. If they do survive to play, New York must pull off a massive upset to stay alive.

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“We know what the situation is… we’ve just got to focus on each game,”

– Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck on the team’s mindset down the stretch.

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New York is coming off its best offensive outing of the season—a 9-3 demolition of the Islanders on Thursday. Artemi Panarin scored twice and now has 14 goals in his last 20 games as he pushes for a second straight 40-goal season. Still, the Rangers are just 8-9-3 over that span, and inconsistency has plagued them all year.

The Hurricanes (46-27-5, 97 points), meanwhile, are already playoff-bound and locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ll open the postseason with home-ice advantage against New Jersey but enter Saturday on a four-game losing streak— their longest of the season.

“It’s adversity like that, and you’ve got to battle through… tonight was a good playoff-kind of style,”

– Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal on Thursday’s shootout loss to the Capitals.

Despite the recent slide, Carolina continues to show its depth and resilience. Seth Jarvis tied Thursday’s game late and has eight goals in his past 16 contests, while Jordan Martinook also added a key third-period tally. Carolina is aiming to hit the 100-point mark for the fourth straight year.

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The Hurricanes have also dominated this season series, outscoring New York 11-4 over the first three meetings, including a 4-3 comeback win in November led by Jarvis and Jackson Blake’s power-play strikes.

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For the Rangers, it’s win or go home time. For the Hurricanes, it’s about tuning up for a playoff run. The stakes couldn’t be more different—but the intensity should be playoff-level on both sides.