The Carolina Hurricanes took a swing for the fences Friday night by acquiring high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado

Rantanen is one of the NHL’s top playoff performers; he ranks fourth among active players in career playoff points per game (1.25) behind Edmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid (1.58), Leon Draisaitl (1.46) and his now former teammate MacKinnon (1.30) and helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Drury, the nephew of Rangers general manager Chris Drury and a New York native, turns 25 next month. He has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time. The 5-foot-11 center was a second-round pick in 2018, and he’s in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.

The Hurricanes have reportedly acquired star winger Mikko Rantanen in a trade with the Avalanche and Blackhawks.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (20-9-4) concluded a four-game road trip through Canada last week, and now shift focus to a busy weekend of games to wrap up the first half of their regular

Connor Ingram made 23 saves and Olli Maatta scored his first goal for the Utah Hockey Club in a 5-2 victory over Winnipeg Jets on Monday night. Logan Cooley, Barrett Hayton, Matias Maccelli and Clayton Keller also scored to help Utah win its second consecutive home game.

Breaking down what is another crucial game for the New York Rangers, plus NHL news and notes, including the passing of former New Jersey Devils coach Tom McVie.

Kevin Hayes, Sidney Crosby and Anthony Beauvillier each had a goal and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins end the Los Angeles Kings' nine-game home winning streak with a 5-1 victory on Monday night.

Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL leader in points, had tied the game with 1:08 left in the second with his 18th goal of the season. Blackwood came off for an extra skater for the last 3:27 but the Avs couldn't score.

Michigan State is no longer the No. 1-ranked NCAA men's hockey team in the country. The Spartans (19-3-2) dropped to No. 2 in the USCHO.com rankings, released on Monday. Boston College (16-4-1) moved ahead of Michigan State with a 3-1 win over Harvard and a series sweep over Providence by scores of 3-0 and 4-1.

Brock Nelson is also likely to be moved after spending the first decade-plus of his NHL career with the Islanders. Even though Carolina owns the draft capital to splurge, Nelson offers the most affordable price as a rental becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

And so, a door long closed in the hockey world opens once again. The game’s best players will have the opportunity to don the jerseys of their home nations and measure themselves against their peers at the 4 Nations Face-Off this February.