Round Two Preview: Canes vs. Rangers

RALEIGH, NC. -The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers are set to go head-to-head for the first time ever in a seven-game series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Before the series kicks off on Wednesday night, let's take a look at the biggest storylines and information from the two sides.

Regular Season Records

Carolina: 54-20-8 (1st - Metropolitan Division)
New York:52-24-6 (2nd - Metropolitan Division)

Round One Result

Carolina defeated Boston in seven games.
New York defeated Pittsburgh in seven games.

Regular Season Series & Meetings

Carolina took the regular season series 3-1, outscoring New York 14-10.

Protecting The Net

When it came to allowing goals in the regular season, nobody allowed fewer than the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers. As Carolina allowed a league-low 202 over the course of 82 games, the Rangers finished just five behind them with their 207.
With a combination of strong defensive units and some of the league's most elite netminders, both made it difficult on opponents all season long to find the back of the net.
While Frederik Andersen played 52 of Carolina's 82 regular season games this season, his status for the second round remains in question. Andersen has been out of the lineup since suffering a lower-body injury on Saturday, April 16 against the Colorado Avalanche and has yet to take part in a practice with the team. In his absence, Antti Raanta carried the load for the Canes in Round One, allowing a combined five goals in his three wins. The valiant performances also came after suffering a lower-body injury during the final week of the regular season, then being run over by David Pastrnak in Game Two, forcing him out of the contest and causing him to miss Game Three.
On the other side, Igor Shesterkin's regular season not only landed him a nomination for the Vezina Trophy, but also the Hart Trophy, for the league's Most Valuable Player. His league-best .935 save percentage lands him in the record books with the eighth best number in any single season, all-time. However, Shesterkin ran into some trouble against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round One. The 26-year-old allowed 25 goals in the seven games, an average of 3.66 goals against. In two of the games he was pulled in favor of Alexandar Georgiev.
Will Raanta continue to be as impressive as he was in Round One? Will Shesterkin's shaky postseason performances continue, or will he return to his regular season form?

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Battle Of The Blue Line Stars

Two men who have also played an important role in keeping the puck out of the back of their team's nets are star defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Adam Fox.
Both leading their teams in average time on ice, the pair will undoubtedly play an important role for their clubs in the upcoming series.
Fox played an average of 28:25 per night in the first round for New York, only trailing Kris Letang of Pittsburgh for the most among any skater in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Seen as one of the best puck-moving defenseman league-wide, the former Canes prospect also produced 10 points in seven games for his club, tied for the most among all defensemen in Round One.
On the other side, while Jaccob Slavin is seen as one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL, he did more than his part in terms of offensive production for Carolina against Boston. Both he and pairing partner Tony DeAngelo tallied eight points, co-leading their team over the course of seven games. While several overtime contests aided Fox's time on ice to above 28 minutes per night, Slavin led Carolina with an average of 23:02 in Round One.
Not only will both be counted on to produce for their teams, they'll also be tasked with the responsibility of shutting down some of the game's brightest offensive stars on the other side of the ice.

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An Emphasis On Special Teams

One of the most threatening parts about the New York Rangers ability to score is their power play. During the regular season they converted at a 25.2% rate, fourth among all teams. During Round One they continued their impressive attack, striking at 31.6%.
Nobody in the NHL had more goals on the man advantage this season than Chris Kreider, who put home 26 of his 52 with New York up a man.
While one of those 26 came against Carolina, Krieder and crew will be going up against a team that killed off 88% of their penalties this season.
As we saw during Round One, special teams can decide a game, with Carolina scoring multiple power play goals in two of their four wins, but also providing Boston with as many as nine power play chances in a single game during one of their losses. The Canes ability to remain disciplined will be tested to an even greater level during this series.

Depth To Be Tested

There's no shortage of firepower within the top half of the New York Rangers lineup. In addition to Fox and Kreider, Game 7 hero Artemi Panerin and Mika Zibanejad, who had seven points in the final two games of the series against Pittsburgh, always pose a threat when they are on the ice.
The aforementioned four names combined for a total of 35 points in the seven game series against the Penguins.
However, what about the rest of their lineup?
The other 12 forwards that played in the series for New York registered a total of 28 points.
One of Carolina's biggest strengths over the course of the season has been their depth up and down their lineup. If Jordan Staal's line is once again tasked with shutting down New York's top line on home ice, how will the Rangers handle the line anchored by Vincent Trocheck, who combined for 19 points during Round One? Will their remaining forward options be able to compete against a trio of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis?

How They See It:

Rod Brind'Amouron turning the page from the first round and refocusing for New York...
"I think the first round is the toughest, physically and emotionally. Everybody is into it. Then, as the playoffs go along, there' just different things that are hard. It's hard to stay emotionally engaged for two months. Everything about it gets harder and harder. The team that can stay with it is the team that generally comes out on top."
Tony DeAngelodescribing his emotions when he knew his team would be taking on his former club...
"They're a good team. I couldn't care less who we play. We just have to worry about what we're going to do here. They're a really good team. Good power play, high-end firepower and a great goalie. And they're a resilient team. Down 3-1, they found a lot of ways to come back and to win games. I'm sure they have a lot of confidence going into this round, but so do we."
Teuvo Teravainenoffering thoughts on Antti Raanta's first round and him continuing to carry the load for the team going into Round Two...
"I'm super happy, everybody is super happy for him. I knew right away when we signed him that he had this [ability]. He looks really confident out there. We can just see that everybody trusts him and he trusts the team."

Loose Pucks

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