Just four years ago, the Hurricanes, like the Rangers, dreamed of playoffs from afar. They were in the process of rebuilding and didn’t finish in the top 20 overall in 2018.
Posted at 7:00 am
Things have changed since then. The Hurricane breaks out by 116 points, to finish third in the overall standings, and Rangers amassed 110 points, to finish seventh. So we will be entitled to a confrontation between two relatively young teams, both of whom have just eliminated two “big” clubs, Boston in seven games in the event of a hurricane, Pittsburgh in seven games also with Rangers.
Carolina has more defense experience, but New York has a better Hart Trophy final goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin. But he ran into trouble in the first round.
In Frederic Andersen’s absence, the Hurricanes should rely on former Rangers, Ante Ranta, who was traded Derek Stepan for Tony DeAngelo in the first round in 2017. DeAngelo will also have things to prove for his old team since he was fired from New York last year . Brady Scgee, Brendan Smith, Jesper Fast and Stepan also moved into the Hurricanes after turning from Arizona to Ottawa, all of whom are former Rangers players as well.
So this series will not lack spice. The challenge for the Rangers will be to withstand the high speed of hurricanes. If Mika Zibanijad and Chris Kreider come back from where they left off at the end of the first round, the Rangers will be formidable in attack.
players to follow
PHOTO KARL B DEBLAKER, linked press archives
Sebastian Aho
Carolina: Sebastian Aho is still the club’s best striker, but he was somewhat conservative in the first round with five points, including two goals.
New York : First place Mika Zipanjad exploded when he scored seven points in the last two matches of the first round!
players under the radar
Carolina: Jacob Slavin is not only the best Hurricane defender and the best-kept secret of the National Hockey League, he also has eight points in seven games against Pittsburgh.
New York : The Rangers will trade a first-round pick for jets if they can eliminate hurricanes in Andrew Cope’s luxury plumber trade. Otherwise, Winnipeg will get a second-round pick, as well as another guaranteed second-round pick. But Kopp has seven points so far in the playoffs.
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