Series Primer: Rangers & Hurricanes Square Off For Heavyweight Second Round Matchup

A week after punching their ticket to the Second Round, the New York Rangers (55-23-4, first in Metropolitan Division) face their next challenge in the Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7, second in Metropolitan Division). 

The puck drops on the series at 4:00 p.m. from Madison Square Garden. 

Neither team skated ahead of Game 1 due to the early start time. 

Igor Shesterkin (4-0, 1.75 GAA, .931 SV%) will remain in net for the Rangers after helping the team to a sweep of the Capitals. He finished the series with 23 saves in Game 4. Against Carolina in his career, he is 9-8-0 with a 2.26 GAA and .928 SV%, including a seven-game series win in 2022. He last earned a 28-save shutout against them on March 12. 

After missing practice earlier in the week, Adam Fox and K'Andre Miller will both be good to go for Game 1. 

Carolina will stick with Frederik Andersen (4-2, 2.25 GAA, .912 SV%) in goal, who started every game in their First Round victory over the New York Islanders. He made 21 saves on 24 shots in a series-clinching Game 5 on Tuesday. Against the Rangers lifetime, he is 9-6-3 with a 2.80 GAA and .904 SV%, most recently making 24 saves in a loss on Nov. 2. 

Brett Pesce will remain unavailable for the Hurricanes. The defenseman is out with a lower-body injury in Game 2 against the Islanders. 

In their three meetings this season, the Rangers went 2-1-0 against the Hurricanes, bookending the season series strong. New York picked up a 2-1 win in the first game on Nov. 2, with Will Cuylle putting the Rangers ahead for good. However, the Hurricanes answered back with a decisive 6-1 win on Jan. 2, with Andrei Svechnikov tallying two goals. Former Rangers blueliner Brady Skjei also had three helpers in the game. 

In the rubber game, Shesterkin stole the show with a 24-save shutout. Adam Fox scored the lone goal with eight seconds left in the first period, giving New York a 1-0 lead that stood till the final buzzer. 

Carolina put the Islanders away in Game 5 last Tuesday. Things started out right for the Hurricanes, jumping out to an early lead on goals from Teuvo Teravainen and Svechnikov. Mike Reilly cut the deficit in half for the Islanders, but an Evgeni Kuznetsov penalty shot restored the two goal lead after 20 minutes. 

The Islanders weren't ready to be eliminated in the second, getting goals from Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas to make it 3-3 after 40 minutes. However, Carolina put the Islanders away for good in the final 20, with Jack Drury, Stefan Noesen, and a Seth Jarvis empty netter sending the Hurricanes to Round 2 on a 6-3 win. 

Mika Zibanejad led the Rangers in scoring in Round One against Washington, putting up a goal and six assists in the four games. He has points in 10-straight games dating back to the home stretch of the regular season, totaling three goals and 13 assists in that span. 

Vincent Trochek enters Sunday's game with goals in three straight games and points in all four games of the series. The forward had a team-high three goals to go with three helpers. 

While very few Rangers got on the board against the Hurricanes in the regular season, Chris Kreider had the most red lights and points with two and three, respectively. Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba each had two assists against the Hurricanes this season to lead the team. 

In addition to his success against the Hurricanes this season, Kreider's dominance extends to the playoffs, totaling 21 goals to lead the active roster. Zibanejad leads in the remaining offensive categories, owning 27 assists and 47 points. 

Sebastian Aho led Carolina across the board on offense this season, totaling 36 goals, 53 assists, and 89 points. He had two goals and an assist against the Islanders last round but was held scoreless in the final two games. 

Noesen and Jarvis shared the most goals for Carolina against the Islanders, with three. Noesen scored what proved to be the winner in Game 1 of the series, while Jarvis also had a pair of three-point contests. 

While no Hurricane recorded a point in every game of the series, Skjei averaged an assist per game in the series, while Jarvis led the team in points against the Islanders with seven. 

Svechnikov led the Hurricanes in goals against the Rangers this season with two. Skjei, a former Ranger, led Carolina in assists against them this season with three, giving him the team lead in points against them this season. 

Three different players lead the Hurricanes in scoring against the Rangers, starting in goals with Jake Guentzel at 18 red lights. Kuznetsov leads in assists with 25, while Jordan Staal, the Carolina captain, has 38 points to top that category. 

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

Jake Guentzel -- Sebastian Aho -- Andrei Svechnikov

Teuvo Teravainen -- Jordan Staal - Seth Jarvis

Jordan Martinook - Jack Drury - Martin Necas

Jasperi Kotkaniemi- Evgeni Kuznetsov - Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns

Brady Skjei -- Tony DeAngelo

Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Pyotr Kochetkov

Game 1 will air on ESPN. On the radio, the contest can be found on 98.7 FM ESPN New York. 

The Rangers had an easier series than the Hurricanes, who, despite beating the New York Islanders in five games had to certainly grind. The Rangers are well-rested and saw their star, Artemi Panarin, play well in the first round, with playoffs anything but his bread and butter.

The Hurricanes have a relentless forecheck, but if the Rangers. can be active with their defense and win board battles, they should be able to get chances off the rush.

This series has the making of a tight one, a potential seven-game battle. 

We will say Rangers in seven.