RALEIGH, N.C. — For Thanksgiving, the Rangers should be grateful they are just over .500.

A 4-2 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Hurricanes on Wednesday night tipped the Blueshirts that way just in time for the Nov. 27 benchmark, giving the team a middling 12-11-2 record with roughly 30 percent of the season gone.

Although Carolina is hampered by injuries, this was a victory the Rangers could hang their hat on.

Because 25 games into the 2025-26 campaign, they are fortunate not to be lower in the standings.

“Today, I don’t think we were at our best. We found a way to win, and I thought our third was our best period,” said captain J.T. Miller, who returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with an upper-body injury. “It’s funny, you go through the first 15 games of the year, how many games we thought we should have won. This is one of those that hopefully can help even some of those out. It’s a really good team. They play right in your face, on top of you. It’s no surprise, they’ve done it for so long.

“I think they played a little quicker than us for a majority of the game, but I thought in the third we started to play behind them and held on to pucks and had our best period. When we did have some breakdowns, [goalie Igor Shesterkin] played unreal.”

New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) smiles after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. James Guillory-Imagn Images

It’s been a somewhat turbulent ride to start the season, one that’s been filled with inconsistent play, an abysmal record at Madison Square Garden and a surplus of injuries that have certainly factored into their struggles.

On Wednesday night inside Lenovo Center, however, the Rangers overcame the well-oiled machine that is this Hurricanes team to lean toward solid ground rather than off the cliff.

Behind a two-point effort from Artemi Panarin, the Rangers handed the Hurricanes their third regulation loss of the season on home ice. They were outshot and under siege at times through 60 minutes, but the Rangers generated timely scoring and let Shesterkin handle the rest with 36 saves.

Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck (16) controls the puck near Carolina Hurricanes’ Jackson Blake (53) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. AP

“They’re a high shot-volume team, they shoot from everywhere,” former Hurricane Vincent Trocheck said. “You can’t let the shot clock pull you a lot of times in this building.”

Somehow, the Rangers emerged from a lopsided opening 20 minutes with a 1-0 lead.

Carolina limited the visitors to just four shots on goal in the first period, but Noah Laba found the back of the net on what was the team’s second shot at the 16:53 mark. From the right faceoff circle, Laba picked the far corner on Canes goalie Frederik Andersen to snap a nine-game stretch without a goal.

The Rangers struggled to stay out of the penalty box in the second period. While one or two were questionable, the Rangers were called for three consecutive penalties and, as a result, weren’t able to find any rhythm at five-on-five.

Noah Laba #42 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after a goal during the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on November 11, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. NHLI via Getty Images

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A Shayne Gostisbehere one-timer on the Canes power play evened the score at one-all just over five minutes into the middle frame.

Toward the end of the second, Panarin blasted a bullet one-timer by Andersen to regain the lead for his team. The Rangers then captured their largest lead of the night just 45 seconds into the third period, when Vincent Trocheck put one in from between the circles for the 3-1 advantage.

Seth Jarvis kept his team in it by responding with his 12th goal of the season, but Will Cuylle’s empty-net goal sealed the victory.

“We’re playing with more structure,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think we’re playing with better intentions. We’ve got numbers back. I think that’s the game that’s going to give us the best chance to win.”