Rangers eye bright future despite being swept in Cup Qualifiers

The New York Rangers became the first team eliminated from the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday.

The Rangers were swept in the best-of-5 series by the Carolina Hurricanes, losing 4-1 in Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city. New York was the No. 11 seed after finishing the regular season with a .564 points percentage (37-28-5).

Here is a look at what happened during the 2020 postseason for the Rangers and why things could be even better next season:

The Skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Jesper Fast, F; Greg McKegg, F; Micheal Haley, F; Steven Fogarty, F

Potential restricted free agents: Ryan Strome, F; Brendan Lemieux, F; Phillip Di Giuseppe, F; Tony DeAngelo, D; Alexandar Georgiev, G

Potential 2020 NHL Draft picks: 10

What went wrong

Power play: The Rangers were stifled, going 1-for-14 with 15 shots on goal in the series. Their one goal was a 5-on-3 goal from forward Artemi Panarin.

The Rangers were tied for fourth in the NHL on the power play (26.2 percent) in 22 games from Jan. 31-March 11. They were seventh in the League (22.9 percent) during the regular season.

"We did everything opposite from what we've been doing all year," center Mika Zibanejad said. "It was bad."

Played out of character: The Rangers aren't an overly physical team, evidenced by the fact that they were 14th in the League in hits per 60 minutes in the regular season (21.68).

They were credited with 116 hits against Carolina, an average of 38.66 hits per 60. They outhit the Hurricanes in every game.

"We thought the playoffs were bloodsport and we were out there running around to hit instead of playing the puck-possession style," left wing Chris Kreider said. "Any time we're outhitting a team we're doing something wrong."

Slow start doomed them: The Rangers lost Fast to an injury and gave up a goal in the first 61 seconds of Game 1. Kreider said it took them until the first period of Game 3 to recover.

"After two games you watch the tape and you're like, 'Who is this?'" coach David Quinn said.

Reasons for optimism

No issues in goal: Goaltending was not their problem against Carolina and they appear set up well for next season.

Rookie Igor Shesterkin proved in the regular season (10-2-0, 2.52 goals-against average, .932 save percentage), and even in Game 3, when he made 27 saves on 30 shots, that he's the real deal. He would have started Games 1 and 2 if he were not ruled unfit to play.

The future of Henrik Lundqvist, who started Games 1 and 2 and allowed seven goals on 71 shots (.901), is in doubt. He has one year left on his contract, but if they want to also keep Georgiev (17-14-2, 3.04, .910) they likely will have to figure out a solution with Lundqvist.

They gained experience: The Rangers had 11 players with zero NHL postseason experience play against Carolina. At least those players, including Shesterkin and rookie forward Kaapo Kakko, got to experience postseason hockey.

They had the second youngest roster by average age of the 24 teams returning to play (25.7).

Core forwards locked up: Panarin and Kreider are signed for the next six seasons. Zibanejad has two years remaining on his contract.

Combined, they accounted for 215 points (97 goals, 118 assists) in the regular season. They scored three of New York's four goals against Carolina.

It's possible one of them will be named the next Rangers captain. They haven't had a captain since trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 26, 2018.