Hurricanes' DeAngelo, Pesce expected to be healthy for series with Rangers

By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

The Carolina Hurricanes will have two key defensemen in the their second-round NHL Playoff series with the New York Rangers.

Tony DeAngelo, who left Game 5 against the Islanders with an apparent wrist injury, did not suffer a major injury, Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday. X-rays were negative, and DeAngelo is expected to be fine.

"It shouldn't be an issue at all," Waddell said.

Brett Pesce, who was injured in Game 2 against the Islanders, is out of a walking boot, Waddell said. He will play in the series against the Rangers, Waddell said, but noted that Pesce may not be ready for the start of the series.

No start date has been set for the series against the Rangers, who finished with a league-high 114 points in the regular-season. The Rangers won a franchise-high 55 games and went 2-1 against Carolina.

The Rangers swept Washington in the first round of the playoffs. Games 1 and 2 will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City with Games 3 and 4 set for Raleigh's PNC Arena. If necessary, Games 5 and 7 will be in New York with Game 6 at Carolina.

Evenly matched

These two teams finished the regular season as two of the best squads in the NHL. The Rangers and the Dallas Stars are the only teams that had more points than the Hurricanes (111). When you look through the regular season team stats, the Rangers and the Canes are right next to each other. The Rangers finished with a 3.39 goals-for average, seventh best in the NHL, while the Canes finished with 3.38 goals-for average, eighth best in the NHL. On special teams, both excel, being top-five in power play goals (67 for the Canes and 65 for the Rangers) and top-three in power play percentage and penalty kill percentage.

Vincent Trocheck and Igor Shesterkin represented the Rangers in the All-Star game this season in Toronto. Trocheck had 77 points, playing in all 82 games while Shesterkin went 36-17-0 in net with a .913 save percentage. For the Canes, Sebastian Aho was the lone representative at the All-Star game. He finished with 89 points in the regular season.

Playoff History

The Hurricanes and the Rangers have met twice in the postseason: in the Stanley Cup qualifying round during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic season and the 2021-22 second round. The Canes defeated the Rangers 3-0 in 2020 and lost to the Rangers in seven games in the 2021-22 second round.

Peter Laviolette returns

The Hurricanes will face a familiar face in Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. The first-year Rangers coach helped lead Carolina to its first Stanley Cup in 2006 against Edmonton. He coached the Canes from 2003-2008 before being fired in December of 2008 and replaced by Paul Maurice. Laviolette coached the Philadelphia Flyers from 2009-2013, the Nashville Predators from 2014-2020 and the Washington Capitals from 2020-2023 before joining the Rangers this season. He replaced Gerald Gallant, who coached the Rangers from 2021-2023 and was let go after New York lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season to the New Jersey Devils.

Need to know: the Carolina Hurricanes

• Frederick Andersen has been stout in net for the Canes since returning from blood clot issues on March 7. Prior to Game 5 against the Islanders, Andersen was 12-1-1 with a 1.54 GA/A and a .942 save percentage. He had three goals against on a .880 save percentage in Game 5.
• In the event Andersen needs a rest, Pyotr Kochetkov got plenty of experience in his absence this season. Kotchetkov's went 23-13-4 in 42 games, allowing 2.33 GA/G, which was second best in the NHL. His .911 save percentage was 14th best as well.
• The trade deadline was huge for the Hurricanes, the play of Jake Guentzel especially. The former Pittsburgh Penguin had 25 points (8 goals, 17 assists) in just 17 games. In the postseason, he has four points in five games. Former Washington Capital Evgeny Kuznetsov has made his presence known on and off the ice. He has four points in the postseason, including a goal and an assist in Game 5.
• 22-year-old Seth Jarvis was phenomenal in the series against the Islanders. He leads the team with 7 points in the postseason (3 goals, 4 assists). He had three points in the series-clinching win in Game 5, including an assist on the first two goals scored in the first period.

Need to know: the New York Rangers

• In his ninth season, Artemi Panarin is having a career year for the Rangers. He ended the regular season with 120 points (49 goals, 71 assists) including a 13-game point streak where he averaged 2 points per game. In the series against the Capitals, he had two goals and an assist in four games.
• The Rangers dominate the third period, scoring 106 goals in the final twenty minutes in the regular season. New York finished the regular season with 28 comeback wins, the most in the NHL.
• Igor Shesterkin, as his All-Star honor might suggest, has been one of the best goalkeepers in the NHL this season. That's continued in the postseason. Going into the second round, he's 4-0, with 1.75 GA/G, second best in the postseason. His .930 save percentage is also second best.

Strong end to the season

Both the Rangers and the Canes finished the regular season on a heater. From the trade deadline (March 8) New York finished 15-5-0 while the Hurricanes finished 15-4-1.