NHL Betting: Rangers vs. Hurricanes Series Preview

Rangers-Hurricanes Series Could go the Distance

Buckle up, Hurricanes and Rangers series could take some time. With best odds have the series going either six of seven games.

When looking at the Rangers vs Hurricanes series preview don’t be looking for a four or five-game series. The Hurricanes are listed at -200 to win the series.

The records of Carolina and New York are nearly identical both at home and on the road. The Rangers allowed 207 goals during the regular season and the Hurricanes 202.

Since winning eight playoff series in a span of four years, the Rangers had dropped two of their last three series before outlasting the playoff-tested Pittsburgh Penguins.

This is the seventh straight time that the Hurricanes won at least one round in the postseason.
Both teams rely heavily on offense from defensemen. The Rangers had six goals and 14 assists from the blue line against the Penguins while Carolina had four goals and 17 assists from defensemen against the Bruins.

The Hurricanes (+625) are tied for the third-best odds to win the Stanley Cup while the Rangers are sixth at +1200.

Rangers vs. Hurricanes Series Information

• Matchup: Rangers (52-24-6 in the regular season), Hurricanes (54-20-8)
• Location: PNC Arena (for Games 1, 2, 5 and 7), Madison Square Garden (for Games 3, 4 and 6).
• Day/Time: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. ET (for Game 1)
• Television: First four games will be on ESPN.

How They Got Here

The only Original Six franchise still alive in the playoffs, the New York Rangers went from missing the playoffs a season ago to finishing second in the Metropolitan Division standings with pretty much the same team.

The Rangers eliminated Pittsburgh with Artemi Panarin scoring in overtime in Game 7. New York Rangers standings are in the books and they have won seven of the last eight playoff series going seven games.

After being pulled twice earlier in the season, Igor Shesterkin responded by stopping 99 of 108 shots in the last three games of the series as the Rangers erased a 3-1 deficit against the Penguins.

Chris Kreider followed up his 50-goal season by scoring five more times in the first-round series.

The Carolina Hurricanes won division titles in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the franchise moved from Hartford in 1997. Carolina then won all four games on the road to eliminate the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

After not making the playoffs in nine straight seasons, Carolina has won at least one series in each of the last four seasons.

With No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen injured, Carolina had to rely on Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov between the pipes. Raanta allowed four goals in the three starts he made at home against the Bruins.

Carolina’s top two scorers in the series were defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Jaccob Slavin.
The Nashville Predators weren’t given much of a chance to knock out the Western Conferences’ top-seeded Colorado Avalanche even when healthy. When the Predators lost goalie Juuse Saros late in the regular season, the outcome of the first-round series was a foregone conclusion.

Tale of the Tape

When looking at the Rangers vs Hurricanes series preview, the Rangers scored the most goals in the first round of the playoffs but also allowed the most goals. They were the only one of the eight teams advancing to the second round to be outscored in the opening round.

The Rangers scored on 31.9 percent of their power-play opportunities compared to just 13.9 percent for Carolina. Neither team was particularly effective killing penalties as Carolina ranked eighth and New York 11th among the 16 playoff teams in penalty-killing success rate in the first round. The Rangers were the worst faceoff team in the opening round.

Late-Season Acquisitions Paying Dividends for the Rangers

The Rangers had seven players with at least five points in the seven games against the Penguins and two of them didn’t start the season with New York.

Andrew Copp, acquired from Winnipeg, had four goals and three assists. He finished third among forwards in time on ice during the series and had a shorthanded goal.

Frank Vatrano was seventh among the Rangers forwards in time on ice but that didn’t stop him from having two goals and three assists in the series. Three of his points came in a Game 2 win.
When things got late in the series, the trio of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox took over combining for 15 points in the last two games.

Hurricanes Defenseman DeAngelo Set to Face Former Team

It would be an understatement to suggest that Tony DeAngelo had a less than ideal end to his five-season run with the Rangers.

DeAngelo was waived after playing just six games, even though he was one of the highest scoring defensemen in the NHL in the previous season. There were multiple issues that had little to do with the on-ice talent. He was accused of getting into an altercation with goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

Nobody signed DeAngelo for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. After a meeting with Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes took a chance on DeAngelo after losing defenseman Dougie Hamilton in free agency.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but DeAngelo has not worn out his welcome with the Hurricanes. He was third on the team in time on ice in the Bruins series despite being tied for the team lead with eight penalty minutes. DeAngelo was tied for the team lead with eight points, including three-point efforts in Game 2 and 5. DeAngelo is being counted on to play a key role in the Rangers vs Hurricanes series preview.

Rangers vs Hurricanes Head-to-Head

Carolina and New York have never met in the postseason.

The Hurricanes have won six of the last seven games against the Rangers. Only one of the last six matchups between the teams have been decided by one goal.

The Rangers have won four of the last seven road games against Carolina while the road team has captured four of the last five matchups.

Sebastian Aho had three goals and four assists in seven games against the Rangers during the regular season while Seth Jarvis and Vincent Trocheck added two goals each. For the Rangers, Kreider led the way with four goals and six points while Zibanejad had a team-high four assists.

The winning team has scored more than four goals just once in the last seven games between the teams.

Rangers vs Hurricanes Betting Analysis

It will be worth keeping an eye on Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen who is working his way back from a knee injury. It is unknown when he will be cleared to return. The good news is veteran Antti Raanta proved to be more the capable in the net against the Bruins. Jordan Martinook is questionable for Game 1 with a lower-body injury.

Carolina earned just nine power-play opportunities in four regular-season matchups with the Rangers while the Rangers had 12.

Considering how deadly New York’s Kreider is on the power, staying out of the penalty box will be crucial for Carolina.

The team scoring first was 3-1 when the met in the regular season.

The Rangers outhit Carolina 125-82 in the four games played earlier in the season. Welcome to the NHL Playoffs 2022.