(2M) Hurricanes at (1M) Rangers
Eastern Conference Second Round, Game 1
Sunday, 4 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes appeared on a collision course to meet in the Eastern Conference Second Round all season.
And here they are, the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division in the regular season, separated by three points in the standings, the Rangers with an NHL-best 114 and the Hurricanes with 111, gearing up for Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
"I think it should be a good series," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "I think we've proven what we can do. I think they've proven what they can do. Here we are."
The Rangers reached the second round by sweeping the Washington Capitals in the first round. They haven't played in a week, having won Game 4 in Washington 4-2 last Sunday.
The Hurricanes arrive in the second round after defeating the New York Islanders in five games in the first round. They won Game 5 at home on Tuesday, so their rest is only two days shorter than the Rangers.
"Two days difference is not that much," Hurricanes forward Martin Necas said. "I feel like no one is going to have an advantage. Maybe they're going to have an advantage starting at home. They deserve it, they finished first. I think it's been the right amount to recover a bit. I feel like we're rested and now it's time to go."
New York and Carolina have met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice since.
The Hurricanes defeated the Rangers 3-0 in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, and New York eliminated Carolina in seven games in the second round of the 2022 playoffs.
The Rangers return 11 skaters and goalie Igor Shesterkin from the series they played against the Hurricanes two years ago. They have since added center Vincent Trocheck, who played for Carolina that season. Laviolette is in his first season with the Rangers.
The Hurricanes also have 11 skaters returning from the series along with Rod Brind'Amour, but the addition of forwards Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline has brought a different level of skill to the group, not to mention two Stanley Cup winners.
"People keep trying to compare the series [from two years ago], but it's two completely different teams," Trocheck said. "Same coach for them, a lot of the same players, but there's probably 10 new players still. There's a lot of new guys since I've been there. They still play the same style of hockey, but there's still turnover every year. It's just different."
The Hurricanes and Rangers played three times in the regular season. New York won 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2 and 1-0 at PNC Arena on March 12. Carolina won 6-1 at New York on Jan. 2.
Here are 3 keys for the series:
1. Breaking down Carolina's man-to-man defense
The Rangers went up against some man-to-man defense from the Capitals in the first round, but the Hurricanes play it arguably better than any other team in the League.
They lock on 1-on-1 all over the ice and with their pressure they create turnovers.
Funneling shots to the net is a good way to break down a man-to-man defense because it forces players to break their structure. But to do that the Rangers have to be able to enter the zone with controlled possession.
"Well, in theory if you beat one guy you should be going in alone," Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey said. "But, no, it's a lot of hard work and three guys or really five guys in the offensive zone working together to get some motion, cutbacks, overlaps, things like that to eventually break them down."
2. Hurricanes’ power play
The Hurricanes' power play is elite. It was second in the NHL in the regular season (26.9 percent). It went 5-for-15 with five different goal-scorers and nine players with at least one point in the first round against the Islanders.
The challenge against the Rangers is big, though, because not only do they have an elite penalty kill (third in the NHL in the regular season, 15-for-17 in the first round), the forwards on it, namely Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Trocheck, are excellent at forcing turnovers at the points to generate shorthanded odd man rushes.
The Rangers scored two short-handed goals off odd-man rushes in the first round. They had a few more short-handed 2-on-1s off turnovers forced at the points they didn't score on.
"Any quick puck movement helps with that," Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei said. "They kill similar to us. Both teams are pretty aggressive, and the way to beat that is to move the puck quick and not let it sit on one guy's stick for a while. And when the shot is there, definitely take it."
3. Rangers' first pass out of the defensive zone
The Hurricanes’ forecheck pressure is intense. They're quick and aggressive and in your face immediately. It forces the opposing defensemen to make quick and correct decisions with the puck or turnovers will happen.
The Rangers defensemen have to be sharp with their first passes out of the defensive zone or it could be a long game against the Hurricanes. They will send the defensemen back for pucks and be on them as they turn and look up the ice.
"That first pass and communication to try to get a little separation and space is super important," New York defenseman Adam Fox said. "We've seen them a lot over the last couple of years, so understanding those things is pretty important because if you let them get on you and get their forecheck going, it's probably going to be a long night in your zone."
Hurricanes projected lineup
Jake Guentzel -- Sebastian Aho -- Andrei Svechnikov
Jordan Martinook -- Jack Drury -- Martin Necas
Teuvo Teravainen -- Jordan Staal -- Seth Jarvis
Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Stefan Noesen
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei -- Tony DeAngelo
Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield
Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched: Jackson Blake, Brendan Lemieux, Maxime Comtois, Scott Morrow, Bradly Nadeau, Spencer Martin, Dylan Coghlan, Ryan Suzuki, Ronan Seeley
Injured: Jesper Fast (upper body), Brett Pesce (lower body)
Rangers projected lineup
Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle -- Alex Wennberg -- Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey -- Barclay Goodrow -- Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Braden Schneider
Erik Gustafsson -- Jacob Trouba
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Zac Jones, Chad Ruhwedel, Jonny Brodzinski, Louis Domingue, Adam Edstrom, Filip Chytil
Injured: Blake Wheeler (lower body)
Status report
Pesce, a defenseman, did not make the trip to New York with the Hurricanes. He remains out. … DeAngelo, who was dealing with an upper-body injury, practiced Saturday and will play. … Fox will play after practicing Saturday. He didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday with the Rangers for maintenance.
NHL.com independent correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report
