Rangers vs. Hurricanes: 5 keys for the Blueshirts in the second round
Rangers defenseman Adam Fox looks on against the Washington Capitals during Game 1 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Game 1 of the second-round series between the Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes will be played Sunday at Madison Square Garden, which is all anybody was sure of when the Rangers practiced Saturday morning at their Greenburgh facility. Late Saturday night, the NHL announced that Game 2 will be played Tuesday at the Garden and Games 3 and 4 are set for Thursday and Saturday in Raleigh. If necessary, Game 5 is scheduled for Monday, May 13, at the Garden, Game 6 for Thursday, May 16, in Raleigh and Game 7 for Saturday, May 18, at the Garden.
The series is a battle of heavyweights. The Rangers won a league-high 55 games in the regular season and finished first overall with 114 points. Carolina chased them all season in the race for the Metropolitan Division title and ultimately finished second in the division and third overall.
The teams know each other very well. Both teams return most of their rosters from their playoff matchup two years ago and Rangers center Vincent Trocheck played for Carolina in that last playoff series before signing with the Rangers as a free agent.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour played for Rangers coach Peter Laviolette (he was his captain) when Laviolette coached the Hurricanes to the 2006 Stanley Cup.
Here are five keys to the series:
HEALTH AND DEPTH
Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, who took a knee-to-knee hit in Game 4 of the first-round series against Washington, practiced Saturday after not practicing with the team Wednesday and Thursday. He pronounced himself good to go for Game 1. The same can’t be said for Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce, who didn’t make the trip to New York for Games 1 and 2. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who has filled in for Pesce, got banged up in the Hurricanes’ series against the Islanders, but Brind’Amour said he is good to go. The Rangers’ K’Andre Miller took a puck to the face in practice Saturday, but Laviolette said he is OK.
FAMILIAR FOES
These teams have played each other so much over the last few years — seven regular-season games the last two seasons plus that seven-game classic in the playoffs two years ago — that there aren’t any secrets. The Hurricanes like to take a lot of shots, but everybody knows that. The Hurricanes play a man-to-man defensive system in the defensive zone, but everybody knows that, too, and the Rangers were working on attacking that in practice Thursday. If there’s anything the Rangers don’t know about the ’Canes, they can ask Trocheck for insight.
MIXING AND MATCHING UP
Brind’Amour likes to play the matchup game. Two years ago, he matched his checking line, centered by Jordan Staal, against the Rangers’ top line, centered by Mika Zibanejad, in the games in Raleigh, where the Hurricanes had the last line change, and that proved effective. The Rangers have home-ice advantage in this series, so they’ll get the last line change in four of the seven games if the series goes that long. Laviolette likes to use a checking line at times, too, but he’s got four defensively capable centers in Zibanejad, Trocheck, Alex Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow, so he can more easily match any of his lines against any of Brind’Amour’s lines.
NET POSITIVE?
With Igor Shesterkin as their goaltender, the Rangers usually have the advantage in net against almost any opponent they face, but Frederik Andersen was fabulous down the stretch for the Hurricanes as they chased the Rangers in the battle for the Metropolitan Division title. Andersen was great in the first round against the Islanders, though Shesterkin had slightly better numbers against Washington (a 1.75 goals-against average and .931 save percentage) than did Andersen against the Isles (2.25, .912).
SPECIAL SAUCE
The Hurricanes had the best penalty kill by percentage in the regular season and the second-best power play. The Rangers’ power play and penalty kill both were third-best. “I think we’ve proven what we can do [on special teams],’’ Laviolette said Saturday. “I think that they’ve proven what they can do. And here we are.’’ In the playoffs, the Rangers are tied for fourth on the power play (37.5%) and Carolina is sixth (33.3%). The Rangers are fourth on the penalty kill (88.2%, plus two shorthanded goals) and Carolina is tied for ninth (72.7%).
STAFF PREDICTIONS
Colin Stephenson: Rangers in 7: Carolina is the betting favorite, largely because they’ve been good for a long time. But the Rangers beat them in two out of three meetings in the regular season, and held them off to win the division despite how hard the Hurricanes played down the stretch. The Rangers have met every challenge and found every conceivable way to win all season. No reason to think that will change now.
Neil Best: Rangers in 5. The Hurricanes are good, but the Islanders showed in playing them tough in the first round that they have vulnerabilities. The Rangers are better in goal, and are entering the second round as a well-oiled hockey machine.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
