Stanley Cup Playoffs: Top 3 reasons Carolina Hurricanes swept Rangers
Here’s how the Carolina Hurricanes started the Stanley Cup Playoffs by sweeping the New York Rangers.
The Carolina Hurricanes have taken the NHL by storm. After being swept by the New York Rangers during the regular season, many thought the Rangers could upset the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Instead, Carolina took it to the blue shirts, sweeping them in their best-of-five series. In the process, the Hurricanes outscored the Rangers 11-4, including 8-2 over the last two games. The Canes played their best hockey and reminded the young Rangers of how far they have to go to become Stanley Cup contenders.
Last season, Carolina made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. It appears the Hurricanes are prepared to make another extended postseason run. The entire Eastern Conference should be put on notice after watching the Hurricanes dismantle the Rangers. Here’s a look at how they swept the Rangers.
1. Goaltending
Going into this series, goaltending was a potential weakness for the Hurricanes. Petr Mrazek and James Reimer were both coming off injuries and with the hiatus, the latter went nearly six months without playing in a meaningful NHL game.
Though the Hurricanes didn’t need great goaltending to get past the Rangers, they still got it. Petr Mrazek posted a .940% save percentage in his two starts, allowing just three goals in two games. He stopped 47 of the 50 shots he saw against one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams during the regular season.
James Reimer got the start in Game 3 and didn’t look rusty at all. He stopped 37 of the 38 shots on goal, with Chris Kreider’s second-period goal being the lone blemish on his record. The Rangers made a very strong push on Game 3, but Reimer was able to keep the Hurricanes in the game and help them weather the storm.
Again, the Hurricanes didn’t need great goaltending to beat the Rangers, but they got great goaltending and it certainly helped. If they get this kind of goaltending moving forward, they’re going to be a very hard team to beat.
2. Defensive Depth
No team in the NHL has more defensive depth than the Carolina Hurricanes. And they needed it to beat the Rangers. The Hurricanes played the entire series without their top two right-handed defensemen – Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce. The former is arguably their best defenseman and the latter is arguably one of their top three.
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Jaccob Slavin led the way, shutting down Hart Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin. Slavin played a shade over 25 5v5 minutes against Panarin and the Hurricanes outscored the Rangers in those 25 minutes 2-0. He also looked strong while facing Mika Zibanejad’s line. In three games, Slavin had two points, but he did his best work defensively.
Brady Skjei and Joel Edmundson were tasked with shutting down Zibanejad’s line. That’s precisely what they did. The Hurricanes limited Panarin and Zibanejad to a combined four points in three games and only one of those points was at 5v5. Carolina’s top two pairings are a huge reason why.
Sami Vatanen struggled at times in Game 3, but considering he was playing in his first three games with the Hurricanes, he didn’t look out of place. Vatanen looked sharp on the power play, picking up two assists there. Haydn Fleury looked solid on the third pairing, as did Jake Gardiner.
Once the Hurricanes get Hamilton back, which should be shortly, they’re going to be downright lethally good on defense.
3. The Top Line
The Carolina Hurricanes scored 11 goals against the New York Rangers. Seven of those 11 goals came from star forwards Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov. Aho had a series-high eight points, Svechnikov had five points, and Teravainen had two points.
At 5v5, the Rangers had no answer for the Hurricanes top forward line. They outscored the Rangers 5-0 at 5v5 with their top line trio on the ice. The Hurricanes underlying stats were outstanding with them on the ice as well.
Aho was the best player in the series. Anytime the Hurricanes need a spark, Aho was there to provide it. He was terrific during all situations and the Rangers simply had no answer for him. Aho kept the puck away from the Rangers and generated chances whenever he was on the ice.
If Svechnikov wasn’t a household name before this series, he sure is now. He had several highlight-reel plays and looked borderline unstoppable at times. Svechnikov is so darn good and the rest of the league better take notice.
Teravainen’s game wasn’t as strong as Aho’s or Svechnikov’s, but let’s be fair, that’s a mighty high bar to match. Just like Aho, Teravainen was strong during all situations and played especially well defensively. He was noticeable whenever he was on the ice.
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That isn’t to say the rest of the Hurricanes forwards weren’t good. Sweeping the Rangers took an impressive team effort from Carolina. But the Hurricanes top line featured the two best forwards in the series. That’s a great win to win.