In the exciting return to play coming up, we get to see a whole new iteration of hockey being played in the all new, 24 team Stanley Cup Playoff system. In what promises to be another heated Metropolitan-Division matchup, we see the sixth seeded Carolina Hurricanes taking on the 11th seeded New York Rangers.
Before The Break
Going into the break, the New York Rangers had a rough run of form, winning five out of their last 10 games with three of those being settled in OT for a record of 5-4-1. However, they carry multiple high profile players in the league such as Artemi Panarin who has 63 assists this season, putting him at third in the league for assists and 95 points this season, tying him for third with David Pasternak. As well as Mika Zibanejad, who has 41 goals this season, putting him at the fifth most goals in the league.
And bringing in the leaders in defence, the Rangers’ have Tony DeAngelo with 53 points this season, tying him with Quinn Hughes, the young rising star from the Vancouver Canucks. As well as having two star rookies this season in Kaapo Kakko, the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, who currently has 23 points this season, and Adam Fox, who has the third highest amount of assists from a rookie this season with 34. With the Rangers having won every game against the Hurricanes this season, the confidence of these players is sure to be high and give them a slight advantage over their opponents.
On the other side of this fierce matchup, we have the Carolina Hurricanes. Entering the NHL break, the Hurricanes had a record of five wins in their last 10 games with a record of 5-4-1, identical to that of the Rangers. The Hurricanes also, however, have some star power up their sleeves from this season with the defensive pairing of Dougie Hamilton and Jacob Slavin having a +/- of +30 this season, the highest of any defensive pairing in the league this season.
As well, not lacking in the points department, the ‘Canes can rely of Sebastian Aho with 66 points to his name this season, tying him with the likes of Steven Stamkos, Elias Pettersson and Max Pacioretty, as well as being tied for sixth place with Kyle Connor for the most goals this season with the two sitting at 38 goals. Not one to be outdone, Teuvo Teravainen contributed with 48 assists and 63 points in the season, tying him with the likes of Patrick Laine and Mark Stone for points. Finally, the Hurricanes can trust their netminder with James Reimer being tied with Carey Price and Frederik Andersen for shutouts this season. Each of them have three to their names and hold a save percentage of .914 for the season.
Returns From Injury
The Hurricanes organization were dealt multiple heavy blows before the break with Dougie Hamilton having sustained an injury to his left leg, fracturing his left fibula and needing surgery for this injury. Hamilton has since been spotted back at practice and is expected to be playing in the series against the Rangers. This of course pending mandatory testing on all players scanning for the coronavirus.
As well, goalie James Reimer has been seen at practice after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs before the play was halted. Reimer is also expected to be competing in the series against the Rangers. A final return from injury sees new to the team Sami Vatanen, who was unable to play when traded from New Jersey due to a lower-body injury, able to make his debut for the Rangers as a full recovery has been made.
One player who is questionable whether they will be able to return to play or not is Hurricanes defensemen Brett Pesce, who required surgery on his right shoulder, which reportedly was set to take up at least six months to make a full recovery from, as per Carolina GM Don Waddell.
“He had the surgery on March 5, and they said it was 5-6 months, so if you take the calendar, it will be some time probably in the middle of August. So I’m not sure he’s going to be ready when the season begins or not and the timing of when the season begins, but he’ll be really close.”
Tom Gulitti | NHL.com
As for the Rangers injuries, they were relatively few in numbers as most players had returned to play before the break. Filip Chytill is one of the only players who had been out with injury before the break and is expected to have made a full recovery. As reported by NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Chytill has made a return to training, taking part in Rangers training camp during their Monday session on July 13th.
Playoff Prediction
At a glance, these two teams seem fairly evenly matched with both teams holding a record of 5-4-1 before the break. Carolina had played two less games in the season, but had one more win, as well as being on a streak of three wins before the break. However, the ‘Canes had lost every game this season against the Rangers up to the point of the break, leading to a rise in confidence that could give New York the upper hand in the NHL play-in round.
Due to unknown morale and form, this series could be in for a shock as we see a new player debut in Sami Vatanen for the ‘Canes that might just tilt the scales, strengthening an already strong defence with some veteran skill. Based on these facts, my prediction would be that this series will go down to the wire and be a hard contest to see who advances to the league’s second round.
Between the pipes, Carolina’s James Reimer has looked solid this season being a veteran goalie, but having sustained an injury, it will be interesting to see if he can come back into the form he was in before the break in play. On the other side, we see a living legend in Henrik Lundqvist who admittedly had a rocky season. He owned a 3.16 Goals Against Average which may lead to the Rangers opting to use young star Alexander Georgiev. Georgiev played more games this season and had an average of 3.04 goals against while also having made 967 saves.
In defence, it’s a matchup between the solid first line of Hamilton and Slavin, having had a solid season with the highest +/- of a defensive pairing, as well as Hamilton contributing 40 points this season. On the other side of the ice, the Rangers have a strong, young defensemen in Adam Fox who is still in his rookie season and looks to be an up and coming prospect at 22. As well, the Rangers can rely on Tony DeAngelo who is having a stellar season while tied for fourth highest in points for a defensemen.
In terms of offence, there is no comparison between Artemi Panarin tied for third in points with 95, and team leader in points, Sebastian Aho at 66 points. As well, the Rangers have centreman Mika Zibanejad who’s fifth overall in goals, only one ahead of Sebastian Aho. The ‘Canes also have Teuvo Teravainen who sits tied at 11th in the league for assists. He’s able to lay passes well while pushing the play up the ice efficiently.
Prediction: Rangers in Five
When looking at the history of these two teams, the Rangers have won the majority of games they’ve hit the ice for against the Hurricanes. While the ‘Canes have had a great year, their 0-4 record against the Rangers from this season does not look promising to have a huge postseason turnaround. But given the ‘Canes acquisition of Vatanen and their good run of form, they look set to try and give the Rangers a good run for their money, taking the series to six games.
This Series starts on August 1st at 12:00pmET at Scotiabank Arena. Being held in Toronto, it will be played with no fans in attendance due to the pandemic that halted play.
All stats were confirmed via NHL.com