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With three straight wins this week, the Carolina Hurricanes have pulled ahead of the New York Rangers for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

The Hurricanes defeated the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, followed by a win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and then put together a dramatic comeback and overtime win against New Jersey Devils today, which marked Pyotr Kochetkov’s first NHL victory. Even though the Hurricanes may not have been facing an overly high quality of competition, they’re significant wins just based on the current race for the Metropolitan Division lead.

The Rangers were riding a four-game winning streak coming into today and were square with the Hurricanes in both points and games played. However, with New York's 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, the Hurricanes now have sole possession of top spot in the division, with both teams at three games remaining.

Looking ahead, the Hurricanes play the New York Islanders tomorrow, with both teams being on the second half of a back-to-back. However, the biggest game comes on Tuesday, when Carolina faces the Rangers in New York. If the Hurricanes can beat the Rangers, they have an excellent chance of locking up the Metropolitan, with only a final game against the New Jersey Devils afterwards.

However, the Rangers don’t play again until the matchup against Carolina, with two more home games against the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals to wrap up the season.

Carolina’s winning streak coupled with New York’s loss against Boston today puts the Hurricanes in a good spot and allows them to control their own fate with only three games remaining. However, top spot in the division is still very much in play and it’ll be an interesting final week to see what happens.



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QuizWiz
OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL

Hurricanes fall to Wild following shutout win over Canadiens
Hurricanes' struggles putting Metropolitan Division lead in jeopardy
Hurricanes earn key win over Rangers to extend Metropolitan Division lead
Hurricanes fall to Red Wings and Avs, now tied with Rangers for Metro lead

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