Stanley Cup Playoffs: Hurricanes versus Rangers series preview, prediction

Matchups

Forwards

The Rangers have a Hart Trophy contender in Panarin and another guy who could finish in the top 10 in Zibanejad. They rode those two guys quite hard, as they combined for 73 goals (about 30% of their total offense) and 170 points. Panarin was an especially impressive play driver this season.

Ryan Strome quietly had his best season yet, posting a career-high of 59 points while driving play on offense. Pavel Buchnevich had a better season than his boxcar stats suggest (46 points in 68 games), as much like Strome and Panarin, he drove play. Chris Kreider didn’t drive play like he usually does, but still put up impressive numbers with 45 points in 63 games.

Both Jesper Fast and Filip Chytil had strong seasons as far as driving play on both ends of the ice. The latter had 23 points in 60 games while the former had 29 points in 69 games. Brett Howden and Kaapo Kakko each had very rough seasons. Brendan Lemieux posted solid defensive numbers, but will miss the first two games of the series due to a suspension.

Julien Gauthier, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and Greg McKegg are nothing to write home about, though let’s take a second to acknowledge how awesome McKegg’s name is.

On the other side of the ice, the Hurricanes are led by their top three forwards – Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov. In about 285 minutes together at 5v5, the Canes posted dominant possession numbers and outscored their opponents 22-12. Vincent Trocheck, if healthy, provides Carolina with a strong second-line center option. Nino Niederreiter, as he always does, drove play, even if he wasn’t that productive (29 points in 67 games). The same could be said for both Justin Williams and Jordan Staal.

Martin Necas could be a wild card, as he can drive play on offense if he’s with the right linemates. Warren Foegele is an impressive play driver on offense and for the first time in his career, turned that into results with 30 points in 68 games. That said, his numbers were noticeably worse away from Svechnikov.

Ryan Dzingel has skill, but simply isn’t a good play driver. The Hurricanes signed him to score goals and he didn’t really do too much of that this season. Lucas Wallmark, Jordan Martinook, and Brock McGinn complete a pretty solid core of forwards.

Advantage: Rangers have better top-notch talent, but the Hurricanes have better depth. Give me the guys on Broadway.

Defensemen

The Rangers were a mess defensively this season. They allowed the second-most expected goals against per hour at 5v5, better than only the Chicago Blackhawks. That said, it’s worth noting they improved to 17th from January 1st onward.

Jacob Trouba had a very rough first season on Broadway. His former defensive partner, Josh Morrissey, had a rough year for the Winnipeg Jets. This shows how important chemistry is with pairings. Trouba was awful with Brady Skjei (more on him later) and Brendan Smith.

Tony DeAngelo is a polarizing figure, but what’s undeniable is he’s pretty darn good at hockey. He drove play on offense and has earned himself a nice raise, as he’ll be an RFA after this season. Adam Fox was arguably their best defenseman this year. He needs more minutes, as he flat out dominated in a sheltered role.

Ryan Lindgren is a fine defenseman, though his lack of play driving on offense is a bit concerning. Marc Staal is a liability on both ends of the ice.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes boast a pretty impressive blueline, led by Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton. Losing Hamilton is likely why the Canes defense got noticeably worst after January 1st. Had he been healthy, he probably would have been a Norris Trophy finalist. Hamilton drives play on both ends of the ice, as does Slavin.

Jake Gardiner never got over his back injury from last season, as he posted unimpressive numbers across the board. He did, however, still manage to drive offense. Sami Vatanen should be able to help if he’s healthy. He hasn’t played since February 1st, though. The Hurricanes are hoping Brady Skjei can succeed in a lesser role than the one he had with the Rangers.

Trevor van Riemsdyk, Joel Edmundson, and Haydn Fleury will fight for the last available spot in the lineup. I’d expect Edmundson to get the nod.

Advantage: Hurricanes

Goaltending

The Rangers have a significant advantage here. They have three viable options in Igor Shesterkin, Alexandar Georgiev, and Henrik Lundqvist. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the start, though I imagine it’ll be Shersterkin given how outstanding he was this season.

Petr Mrazek and James Reimer form a decent tandem for the Hurricanes. They both got injured in that crazy game against the Maple Leafs.

Advantage: Rangers