Here’s the thing about the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes: As great as these clubs are, and as quickly as they each put away their respective first-round opponents, it’s safe to say we have yet to actually see them at their best.
With all due respect to the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, each of whom put together thrilling displays of perseverance to sprint into the playoffs, neither was a match for the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division.
The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers and the third-place Hurricanes, who finished just three points behind them in the league standings, are both built to win right now. Both boast the kind of depth needed to make a run, and both have the luxury of leaning on elite goaltending performances on the rare occasions when the offence doesn’t hit a home run. Try to find a weak spot on either side of this matchup, and you’ll be looking for a while.
There’s a little history between these two clubs, having met just two years ago in what was a fast-paced seven games that saw New York move on.
Both teams have gotten better since then, with New York adding a little size and muscle while Carolina brings extra speed to what should be an absolutely thrilling second-round series.
Head-to-head record regular season:
Rangers: 2-1-0
Hurricanes: 1-2-0
How New York Got Here: After claiming some regular-season hardware atop the league standings this year, the Rangers are out to right some wrongs. Last spring saw the club fall to the upstart New Jersey Devils in seven. While they had a different opponent this time around, the Rangers made sure there would be no chance of an upset against Washington.
Led by Vincent Trocheck’s three goals as the second-line anchor and Mika Zibanejad’s seven points on the first line, the Rangers cruised to a sweeping victory. Against Washington, the Rangers allowed a league-best 1.75 goals against per game with star netminder Igor Shesterkin allowing just seven goals through four matchups while the blue line shut down sniper Alex Ovechkin.
As much as this team is driven by its ample star-power, it also saw some unlikely heroes emerge. Rookie Matt Rempe brought plenty of energy — not just in the form of booming hits and a few punches, but a couple goals, too — while special teams put on a clinic.
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How Carolina Got Here: While they couldn’t quite complete the sweep, the Hurricanes made quick work of the New York Islanders.
Like, really quick. Take Game 2, for example, when the Hurricanes found themselves down 3-0 in the second period only to bury the Islanders with a four-goal barrage in the third, including the game-tying and game-winning goals scored just nine second apart. Or Game 5, when they bested that record with two goals in just eight seconds in the third frame to grab hold of the game and put away the series.
The Hurricanes forced the Islanders out of their own game plan — the team that took the second-fewest penalties through the regular season suddenly served more penalty time per game than any other playoff squad (and it wasn’t particularly close), with the Hurricanes drawing a total 29 penalties. Top it all off with an excellent showing from Frederik Andersen, and you’ve got a team that’s clearly on a mission.
PLAYOFF TEAM STATS
ADVANCED STATS
Regular season 5-on-5 numbers via Natural Stat Trick
Rangers X-Factor: Artemi Panarin
Panarin made it clear with his Game 1 goal against Washington that we weren’t going to see a repeat performance of last spring, when the star forward was shut out through seven games as the Rangers were upset in the first round by the New Jersey Devils. He set the foundation for a productive post-season this year, entering the playoffs riding career highs in goals (49) and points (120) thanks to a renewed focus on his offensive skillset (a.k.a., scoring a lot of goals).
He closed out the Rangers’ sweep of the Capitals with two goals and an assist through three games, with both goals serving as the game-winners. That’s more like it. Deployed on the team’s second line alongside Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, the 1B to the team’s 1A combo of Chris Kreider, Zibanejad and Jack Roslovic, the Rangers boast about as good a one-two punch as any team in the league. Against Carolina, a team with more than a few dynamic goal-scorers of their own, Panarin is going to have to be even better if the Rangers are to emerge victorious.
One key area of interest will be at five-on-five. One of Panarin’s first-round goals and two his three points came on the power-play — a dangerous unit, to be sure — but can Panarin step up at even-strength, too?
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Hurricanes X-Factor: Jake Guentzel
Brought in from Pittsburgh as a rare rental for Carolina, Jake Guentzel was a perfect fit right from the start down the stretch for the Hurricanes. In 17 games with Carolina post-trade, the 29-year-old tallied eight goals and 25 points. He’s been off-pace so far in the playoffs, however, registering a goal (an empty-netter) and four points through five games against New York and generally not looking like the playoff performer we’re used to seeing.
Similar to Panarin’s situation with the Rangers, the Hurricanes’ lineup has a deep offensive unit that doesn’t need to rely on just one superstar — but after a handful of playoff runs that have fallen shy of expectations for the win-now club, it’s hard not to look to the new guy to be the real difference. We all know the kind of spark Guentzel can bring to a Stanley Cup run — he was a revelation when he first joined the Penguins during their 2016-17 championship victory. The Hurricanes will need him at his best if they’re to top the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
