The New York Rangers have solidified their position as the third seed in the Metropolitan division. By the end of the evening, we will know who their first-round opponent will be.
Tonight, the New York Rangers will be playing their 82nd and final game of the 2022-'23 season as they play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This game means absolutely nothing for them in regards to their playoff seeding, but there happen to be two other games in the NHL that will determine who they will be playing next week.
The Carolina Hurricanes will be on the road in Florida, taking on a Panthers team that needs to win if they want to avoid playing the Boston Bruins in round one.
The New Jersey Devils will also be on the road, taking on the Washington Capitals for the chance to win the Metropolitan division after missing the playoffs for the past five seasons.
Now why do these games matter you ask? The Rangers will either be playing the Devils or the Hurricanes and these two opponents provide completely different matchups.
If the Hurricanes win, the Rangers will be playing the Devils. If the Hurricanes lose and the Devils win or lose in overtime, the Rangers will be playing the Hurricanes.
Let's talk about the differences between the two.
In my opinion, the Rangers matchup way better against the Carolina Hurricanes than they do against the New Jersey Devils.
The Carolina Hurricanes play a very solid, 200-foot game under their head coach, Rod Brind'Amour, but they don't have as many offensive scoring threats that New Jersey has. The Canes are currently ranked 17th in offensive production, averaging 3.16 goals per game and skating to a 20.1% on-the-man advantage (20th).
Their leading scorer this season is Martin Necas, who has 71 points in 81 games played. He is the only player on the team with 70 or more points.
In four meetings against the Canes, New York went 3-1-0, outscoring them by a combined 15-9 count.
The Devils are a much more offensively talented team. They have four players on their roster with 70+ points. Jack Hughes (97), Nico Hischier (79), Dougie Hamilton (73), and Jesper Bratt (72).
As a group, they are the sixth-highest scoring offense, averaging 3.51 goals per game and they are the best team in the league at generating offensive scoring chances, generating 13.48 each night.
The Rangers went 1-2-1 against the Devils this season and were outscored 14-11.
The thing that makes the Devils scarier than Carolina is the pace at that they play offensively. New Jersey is so strong in transition and off the rush. Their talented forwards like Hughes, Bratt, and Timo Meier dominate puck possession in the offensive zone, which allows them to burn out their opponent in their own defensive end.
For whatever reason, the Rangers have not been able to figure out the Devils this year, but they haven't had many issues against the Hurricanes.
They were one defensive breakdown away from going a perfect 4-0-0 against Carolina this season. In the most recent meeting on March 23rd, the Rangers were tied with Carolina late in the third period, before a defensive zone turnover led to the winning goal by Teuvo Teravainen.
It is evident that Carolina is the better matchup for New York. They are a better defensive team than the Devils, but they can't keep up offensively.
No matter who their opponent is in round one, it will surely be a very fun and entertaining battle.