The Latest Breaking News from Andrew Copp

This is tough to watch, Ryan Strome...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sometimes, it truly is a game of inches. As it was when Sebastian Aho hit the crossbar. And Jesper Fast hit the post. And Aho hit the right post while standing alone in acres of open ice.

NEW YORK — Try as they might, the Carolina Hurricanes can’t win a road game in the playoffs.

PITTSBURGH — The Penguins had finally toppled the Shesterkin wall. Approximately 18,000 arms already ached from waving yellow rally towels endlessly. And the party seemed to just be starting inside PPG Paints Arena when Evan Rodrigues made it 4-1.

NEW YORK — Rangers fans waited five years to see playoff hockey again at Madison Square Garden and they’ll get to see at least another home game.

NEW YORK — When the puck dropped Friday night in their regular-season finale, against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers didn’t know whether the game would be a preview of their first-round playoff matchup or not.

After getting an injury scare when his leading scorer, Artemi Panarin, and Panarin’s linemate, Andrew Copp, left Tuesday’s game with upper- and lower-body injuries, respectively, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant decided to make a few changes with his lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.

NEW YORK — After bending and breaking in the third period the night before at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers nearly bent and broke again, this time against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

DETROIT – Rangers coach Gerard Gallant was asked before Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings if he feared his team, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and coming off a huge win Tuesday over the Penguins in Pittsburgh, might suffer a letdown against the lowly Red Wings.

PITTSBURGH — The NHL schedule makers got this one right, for sure. Saving all these Rangers-Penguins for the stretch run of the season is producing some really fun, high-stakes, late-season hockey games.

NEW YORK — The way the Metropolitan Division standings look these days, it seems more and more as if the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be meeting up with each other in the first round of the playoffs six weeks from now.