Rangers, Hurricanes aim to keep up hockey thrills in Game 1
The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes are set to meet in Game 1 of their bestof-seven, second-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C.
Both are coming off thrilling Game 7 victories.
Carolina eliminated the Boston Bruins with a 3-2 win on Saturday.
New York rallied to win its first playoff series since 2017 by beating the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime on Sunday.
The Rangers were down 3-1 in the series and 3-2 late in Game 7 before Mika Zibanejad tied the score with 5:45 remaining in regulation. Artemi Panarin won it with a power-play goal 4:46 into overtime.
Carolina won three of the four regular-season meetings with New York.
Several players on both teams likely have clear memories of the last time the Rangers won a playoff series.
Carolina forward Derek Stepan had the game-clinching empty net goal against the Montreal Canadiens in 2017 to lift the Rangers to a 3-1 victory and a 4-2 series win.
Another forward for the Hurricanes, Jesper Fast, and defencemen Brendan Smith and Brady Skjei, also played for the Rangers in the 2017 post-season.
A key player for the Rangers this season has been forward Chris Kreider, who scored a career-high 52 goals during the regular season, well above his previous high of 28 during the 2016-17 season and matched two years later.
Kreider had four goals and two assists in four games against Carolina this season, scoring in every meeting.
Panarin and Zibanejad also set NHL career highs in assists and points during the regular season.
Zibanejad was a big reason the Rangers advanced out of the first round, totalling three goals and eight assists against the Penguins.
“When Mika started to play his game, he was outstanding, and that's what we want him to do,” New York coach Gerard Gallant said.