Gold: Carolina bested Rangers in regular season, but this is the playoffs

By Adam Gold radio host 99.9 the Fan

We meet again.

The Carolina Hurricanes are getting set for another playoff reunion of sorts as they open up a series with the New York Rangers at PNC Arena tonight. The Canes swept the Rangers out of the Bubble Hockey Tournament two Septembers ago in what ended up as the final act of Henrik Lundqvist’s hall of fame career.

But, that was a totally different Rangers team up in Toronto. This version, while maybe a little ahead of schedule on the rebuild timeline, is very deep, highly skilled and incredibly dangerous. Oh, and in goaltender Igor Shesterkin, New York has a Hart Trophy (MVP) finalist as well as the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie.

I guess in that regard, not much has changed when it comes to the Rangers. Chris Kreider’s 52 regular season goals – plus 5 more in the postseason – and Mika Zibanejad (11 points in 7 playoff games so far) pace a potent offense with a lethal power play. And, they still have spectacular play in between the pipes.

Keeping regular ...

The Hurricanes took the season series from the Rangers 3-1-0, and it could be argued that Carolina was the better team in each game. In fact, based on scoring chances and possession data, the Canes’ best performance against New York was probably the 2-0 loss at PNC Arena when Alexandar Georgiev stopped all 44 shots.

The last two games in the season series were played at Madison Square Garden and much was on the line in each. In each the winner would have grabbed the advantage in the race to win the division and in each it was the Hurricanes that played better in crucial moments.

On April 12, the Canes erased a 1-0 2nd period deficit in a 4-2 win. Goals from Seth Jarvis and Jordan Staal early in the 3rd backed Frederik Andersen’s 28-save effort as Carolina bumped their lead back to 4-points in the Metropolitan Division. Two weeks later, with Andersen injured and Antti Raanta down with cramping in his lower body, rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov backstopped the Canes to a 4-3 win.

How they got here…

To refresh, the Hurricanes went 4-0 at home in the 7-game series win over the Bruins. Carolina outscored Boston 18-6 in the four wins at PNC Arena. They were led offensively by Jaccob Slavin and Tony DeAngelo. Each had 8 points in the 7 games as they combined for 3 goals and 13 assists. Vincent Trocheck (3 goals) and Teuvo Teravainen (2 goals) each had 7 points to top the forward group in output.

Antti Raanta went 3-2 in the series with a .927 save percentage.

New York rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime in Game 7 at the Garden. The Pens were in control of the series, on the verge of advancing and leading 2-0 in Game 5, but Sidney Crosby was injured on a hit from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba and the Blue Shirts rallied to win 5-3.

Same story back in the Steel City for Game 6. The Pens, without Crosby, took a 2-0 lead early only to see the Rangers rally for a 5-3 win. The game-winning goal exposed another issue for the Pens when Kreider’s long-distance drive inexplicably couldn’t be handled by Pittsburgh’s 3rd string goaltender, Louie Domingue.

While Crosby and All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry would both return for Game 7 In New York, Rangers magic seemed inevitable. Trailing 3-2 with just under 6 minutes to play, Zibanejad ripped a shot from below the face off dot to tie the game. Then, in overtime, with former Hurricanes forward Brock McGinn in the penalty box, Artemi Panarin’s 3rd goal of the series sent the Garden into pandemonium – and the Rangers to Raleigh.

New York scored 6 power play goals, operating at a 31.6% clip, in the series win. Though they also allowed 6 power play goals in 20 tries. Carolina was 5 for 34 (14.7%) on their power play against the Bruins, including 1 for 4 at 5-on-3, while Boston connected on 6 of 29 with the man advantage.

Horses for courses…

Sebastian Aho had 3 goals and 7 points against the Rangers this season. He has 9 goals in 20 career regular season games against New York. In the bubble, Aho was a monster with 3 goals and 8 points in the 3-game sweep. Antti Raanta, has made one career start against the Rangers. He took a shutout into overtime before losing while with Arizona.

Mika Zibanejad has 32 points (13g, 19a) in 29 career games against the Hurricanes. Chris Kreider scored in each game against Carolina this season. Igor Shesterkin started twice against the Canes this year, both losses, posting a .883 SV%. For his career, he’s 1-2-0 with a .899 SV% and a 3.07 GAA. In his one postseason start, he gave up 3 goals on 30 shots (.900 SV%) in the loss that ended the series.

Infirmary report…

Stop asking about Frederik Andersen. Injured in the Hurricanes’ April 16 loss at Colorado, Carolina’s top goaltender has yet to practice with the team. Until that happens there can be no update. Jordan Martinook returned to practice yesterday. He suffered a lower body injury in the team’s Game 3 loss in Boston. He’s not yet ready to jump back in the lineup, so Steven Lorentz remains on the left side of the fourth line.

Line em up…

Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis

Domi-Trocheck-Teravainen

Niederreiter-Staal-Fast

Lorentz-Kotkaniemi-Necas

Slavin-DeAngelo

Skjei-Pesce

Smith-Cole

Raanta

Wanna bet…?

ML: Carolina -170/New York +145. O/U: 5.5 goals.

Coverage begins at 36:00 on 99.9 the Fan with Storm Watch starring Dennis Cox. Opening face off set for just after 7:00. Don’t forget to follow the Canes Corner Podcast as a new episode drops the #MorningAfter every Hurricanes game.