The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers each will play their second Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they decide their Eastern Conference Second Round series at PNC Arena on Monday.
The winner will have home-ice advantage against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, which begins Wednesday.
"I think it's actually easier to play in a sense because you know there is a finality to it," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said of Game 7s. "We're not playing another one against them. It's it. So I think it's easier to come to the rink. It's easier to say, 'Just got to throw everything out there and let it all hang out,' because it's over one way or another."
Carolina is 7-0 at home this postseason, the third team in the past nine years to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs with at least a seven-game home winning streak, joining the 2013 Los Angeles Kings (eight games) and 2014 Chicago Blackhawks (seven).
During that streak, the Hurricanes have led for 224:10 and trailed for 50:30, all in Game 1 against New York, a 2-1 Carolina overtime win. The Hurricanes have outscored their opponents 25-8 at home, including 7-2 against the Rangers.
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
Carolina can become the first team in NHL history to win seven consecutive Game 7s; it has won six in a row since the 2006 Eastern Conference Final.
The Hurricanes defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 7 of the first round at PNC Arena on May 14 after losing Game 6 on the road, just as they did at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
"We definitely have the confidence to do it [again]," Carolina center Sebastian Aho said. "We believe it."
The Rangers are 4-0 in potential elimination games in the playoffs, including a 4-3 overtime win in Game 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. They won Game 6 in Pittsburgh to force a Game 7. It remains their only road win in the playoffs (1-5).
New York was outshot 34-17 in a 3-1 loss in Game 5 at PNC Arena that put it down 3-2 in the series. But the Rangers came back for a 5-2 win in Game 6, when goalie Igor Shesterkin made 37 saves and had two assists.
The Rangers are 7-1 in Game 7s since 2012.
"We're just going to be ourselves, that's how we've done it all year," New York defenseman Jacob Trouba said. "Even this morning, guys are laughing, having fun, enjoying our time being around each other. We're going to enjoy this game. There's not going to be any big speeches. We know what we need to do, and our team has done it all year."
Home teams are 111-78 (.587) winning Game 7s all-time in the playoffs, including 4-1 this postseason. The team that scores first in a Game 7 is 142-47 (.751) all-time, including 4-1 this postseason.
Here are 3 keys to Game 7:
