For the second consecutive NHL playoff series, New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette will face his former team. The Rangers, who defeated the Washington Capitals in the first round, will face the Carolina Hurricanes, whom Laviolette won the Stanley Cup in 2006.
In a press conference Wednesday, the 59-year-old coach didn’t really buy that story. He jokes that no matter who won the Hurricanes-New York Islanders series, he would have coached with one of his former teams (he coached the Islanders from 2001 to 2003). He said the statute of limitations had passed for him to talk about playing against his former club. .
“This is just a series,” he said.
And it has the makings of a good one. The Rangers and Hurricanes have the two best records in the Eastern Conference this season, playing seven straight games in 2022. The two teams met three times during the regular season, with two of the meetings ending in one-point games.
“They’ve been the standard in this division the last few years,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “They’ve been a consistently good team for years now. We’ve improved over the years and it’s going to be a great series.”
The Athletic‘s Peter Boe and Michael Russo are looking at the matchup, with Boe focused on the Rangers and Russo focused on the Hurricanes.
How much pressure is on each team?
baud: The Rangers’ window of competition doesn’t close after this season, but they have high expectations after winning the Presidents Trophy. So far, all of these playoffs are going according to plan for the Rangers. They got a relatively easy first-round opponent in Washington and didn’t lose any players to injury in the series.
Given New York’s regular season success, not making it past the second round would be a huge disappointment, especially since many of the team’s key players are over 30 years old. Artemi Panarin is 32 years old, Chris Kreider is 33 years old, and Mika Zibanejad is 31 years old. Neither shows any major signs of regression, but the Rangers need to take advantage of that while they’re still playing at a high level. That creates pressure.
Russo: For Carolina, it’s less pressure than expectation. Expectations have always been high for the Hurricanes, who have advanced past the first round in six consecutive seasons (including the 2020 bubble qualifier) and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in six years under coach Rod Brind’Amour last year. Ta. But as Brind’Amour said after Tuesday night’s loss to the Isles, they have bigger goals than just getting to the second or third round again.
But what’s even more interesting is that while the Hurricanes are far from closing, the Hurricanes could look very different next year.
For starters, Brind’Amour himself will be a pending free agent if the Hurricanes don’t reach a deal, but general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday he’s confident it will happen.
even deeper
Hurricanes remain confident in retaining Brinda Amour
The Hurricanes also need to re-sign pending restricted free agents Seth Jarvis and Martin Nechas, as well as Jake Guentzel, Brett Pesce, and former Rangers Brady Skjei, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen. Several notable players, including unsigned players, are pending unrestricted free agency. Jordan Martinook, Jalen Chatfield, and everyone’s favorite former Ranger, Tony DeAngelo.
“Well, there are some sleepless nights because there’s something good going on here and I want to keep it going,” Waddell said. The Athletic.
What is each team’s secret to victory?
baud: New York didn’t have a great 5-on-5 series against Washington, but the sweep showcased the Rangers’ elite goaltending and special teams unit. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin suffered a slump in the middle of the regular season, but has since been great, posting a 17-5-1 record with a .929 save percentage after the All-Star break. . He continued to play well against the Capitals, posting a .931 save percentage in the first round.
More on special teams later, but New York finished the regular season with a top-three power play and penalty kill, and both units looked great against Washington. Despite having 17 chances, the Capitals only scored two goals on the power play, and New York’s power play success rate was 37.5 percent, making it look like they could easily pull away from the Capitals at times. Special teams goals per game go a long way in the playoffs, where 5-on-5 play becomes tougher.
Shesterkin can absorb defensive mistakes and add goals on the power play, but New York will likely need to generate more offense at five-on-five than it did against the Capitals. The Rangers outscored Washington by just 7-5 during the sweep, 5-on-5.
Russo: The Hurricanes’ defense is their mainstay, but this team should be able to score more easily than they did last postseason. At the time, they didn’t make any major additions at the trade deadline, and lost Andrei Svechnikov to a torn ACL shortly after the trade. deadline.
Now, Svechnikov is back after scoring six goals in the conference finals against the Florida Panthers, and they also added playoff-proven Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov at the trade deadline.
even deeper
Why the Hurricanes are better equipped for the Rangers and perhaps this postseason and beyond
But the Canes know they have to defend against a Rangers team that keeps you going. They will have to stay out of the box against the Rangers’ strong power play, and Frederik Andersen will have to stand up. After Andersen returned from a scary blood clotting issue in March, the Canes implemented a strict goalie rotation. But after starting five games in the playoffs, some worried that he was starting to get tired.
Therefore, the rest between the first and second rounds should serve him well.
The Hurricanes could use Jake Guentzel to be more aggressive in the second round. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Which skaters need to play well for each team to win?
baud: The Rangers could take advantage of Panarin’s big series against the powerful Hurricanes. The winger, who scored a career-high 120 points in the regular season, had a solid performance against the Capitals, scoring three points in four games, but he didn’t have as much success at even strength. New York had less than a 40 percent expected goal share with him at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice. But Panarin had two points in the clincher, and Laviolette believed that was important heading into the second round, even if both were won on the power play.
“You want confidence because it gives the players a feel for the puck. They’re moving the puck and producing,” the coach said. “That’s where they grow. But again, he had a great year as well. His work all year long established himself and now he’s in the playoffs and continuing to play.” I think I’ve pushed myself to the point where I can do it in a “way”. “
If the line of Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière can form a 5-on-5, the Rangers could reach another level, especially if Zibanejad’s line continues to score like it did against Washington.
Russo: If you’re going to have a long run in the playoffs, one thing is for sure: You need a variety of players to contribute. For example, when the Canes reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2002, the famous “BBC line” of Brind’Amour, Bates Battaglia and Eric Cole dominated in one series, but Jeff O’Neal and Ron in the next series. -Francis, Sami Kapanen.
If that happens, the Canes could take advantage of a big series from Guentzel. Guentzel was a revelation for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017, but he had a pretty quiet first round alongside Sebastian Aho and Svechnikov. After arriving from Pittsburgh, there were few players in the league better than Guentzel, Aho, and Jarvis, so perhaps Brind’Amour will be reunited at some point.
But Guentzel seemed too selfish in the first round, and aside from Puck, the second period of Game 5 was probably Kane’s worst game. That’s why I half expect him to be a prolific shooter against the Rangers.Waddell made it clear Wednesday that he wants Guentzel to get back to that MO in the second round.
What is the biggest lineup decision each coach has to make?
baud: Laviolette has no reason to change his defensive pairing, but will likely need to consider adjusting his forward group at some point in the series. Matt Lempe played in all four games against the Capitals and scored the Rangers’ first goal in the playoffs, but he may have a harder time against the deep and powerful Hurricanes. He seems likely to play in Game 1 against Carolina, considering his line rush in Wednesday’s practice. Laviolette doesn’t seem keen on changing the lineup, which has a 4-0 record so far this postseason.
If New York ultimately loses the game, Laviolette may be forced to change course. Johnny Brodzinski, who played in 57 regular season games, could be an option to replace Rempe, but the big question is Filip Sztil. The 24-year-old missed nearly the entire season due to concussion issues, but continues to skate with the team without any restrictions. If he can play, he will be a huge boost.
Russo: Like Laviolette, it’s hard to imagine Brind’Amour making any changes for Game 1 unless necessary.
DeAngelo had to undergo an X-ray after being cut after Game 5. Waddell said Wednesday that everything came back negative and he should be OK. Let’s see if he practices on Thursday. Pesce hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Islanders series, but Waddell said Wednesday that his walking boot is out and he plans to return at some point against the Rangers.
What matchups intrigue you?
baud: The Hurricanes may be the only team in the league with better special teams than the Rangers. Brind’Amour’s club had its best penalty kill and his second-best power play in the regular season. As mentioned above, special teams will be key for New York. If Carolina finds a way to take advantage of that area, the Hurricanes could be in great position to beat the No. 1 seed.
Russo: How does Brind’Amour work with a Jordan Staal line that features Teravainen, the third-best playoff goal scorer in Hurricanes history, and Jarvis, who performed very well in the first round and especially in Game 5? Will it be expanded? This is shaping up to be an almost hilarious Jarvis team in front of us. Very eye-catching.
However, Staal was still a phenomenal defensive center, and he never took the ice for a 5-on-5 goal against a first-round opponent. Then, after Aho’s lineup gave up two runs against Bo Horvat’s lineup in the second period on Tuesday, Staal’s lineup shut down Horvat’s lineup in the third period. Still, Jesper Fast’s injury has hurt Staal’s line a bit, so we’ll see how they fare against Zibanejad’s line or Trocheck’s line (or both) in the next round. .
(Top photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
