Head-to-head history
The Canes and Rangers met three times in the 2023-24 campaign, with New York winning two of those. In fact, the Rangers have won five of the last seven meetings dating back to the beginning of 2023. NY finished just three points above Carolina in the East this season.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Canes were in the conference finals last season before falling to the Florida Panthers and they definitely have every opportunity to get back there and potentially beyond. Carolina was very convincing in round one, eliminating the Isles quite easily. Rod Brind’Amour’s squad averaged 3.8 goals per contest against New York while allowing just 2.40.
Seth Jarvis led the way with seven points, including three goals and four assists. Max Necas, Andrei Svechnikov, and Brady Skjei all had five points apiece, too. Sebastian Aho, who was the Hurricanes’ best player in the regular season, only compiled three points in the conference quarterfinals but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him figure it out in the next round.
Carolina has no shortage of playoff experience and added to their impressive core at the trade deadline, acquiring Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had a goal and three assists in five games versus the Islanders. Guentzel was a solid piece for the Canes in the season after coming over and he’ll be key in a hopeful Cup run. Carolina is a clear -165 series favorite against the Rangers at Bodog sportsbook.
New York Rangers
The Rangers are a regular fixture in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing in the conference finals in 2022. This team truly looks the part of a title contender in 2023-24, as reflected in their record. New York was 55-23-4 in the season, winning not only the Metropolitan Division but also the Presidents’ Trophy, leading the league with 114 points.
This squad is led by Artemi Panarin, who put up 120 points. Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, and Mike Zibanejad all added a minimum of 70 points apiece as well. In the playoffs so far, Trocheck and Zibanejad were the main producers with seven points and six points, respectively. The Rangers absolutely wiped the floor with the Capitals in the opening round, averaging over three goals per game and beating them by at least two goals in every contest except for one.
New York actually beat the Hurricanes in the 2022 conference semifinals before the Lightning sent them home in the conference finals. That series against Carolina went seven games. There’s a strong possibility it could go the distance again considering how even the two squads are. The Rangers will have home-ice advantage, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday at MSG. But, New York is a series underdog at most NHL sportsbooks.
