Rangers vs. Hurricanes NHL 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs preview, odds, prediction

Rangers	STAT	Hurricanes
52-24-6 (110 pts)	Record	54-20-8 (116 pts)
4.00	Goals Per Game	3.43
4.14	Goals Allowed Per Game	2.86
-1	Goal Differential	+4
3-1-0 Home, 1-2-0 Away	Home/Away Record	4-0-0 Home, 0-3-0 Away
31.6%	Power Play	13.9%
73.9%	Penalty Kill	79.3%

Rangers leaders:

• Mika Zibanejad, C. – 3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points, 1 SHG
•  Chris Kreider, LW. – 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points, 1 PPG, 1 SHG, 2 GWG
• Adam Fox, D. – 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points, 1 PPG, 4 PPP

Hurricanes leaders:

• Jaccob Slavin, D. – 2 goals,  6 assists, 8 points
• Vincent Trocheck, C. – 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points
• Tony DeAngelo D. – 1 goal,  7 assists, 8 points, 1 GWG

Series Odds

• CAR to win: -210
• NYR to win: -172

*Courtesy of FanDuel, for more, click here. 

Key Injuries

• Frederik Andersen, CAR (lower-body injury): The Hurricanes netminder still is on the mend and he isn’t expected to play against the Rangers this round. Andersen was injured during a game on April 16 against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Series Prediction

Carolina Hurricanes win in 6 games (4-2)

•  The Hurricanes have gotten the better of the Blue Shirts this season and have been formidable on home ice during the playoffs. Carolina has won all four of its postseason contests at PNC Arena in Raleigh, but they struggled on the road during the first round. Unlucky for the New York Rangers they won’t have home ice in this round. They struggled on the road against Pittsburgh last round, but lost just one game inside Madison Square Garden. 
• There are a number of ex-Rangers on the other side of the ice this round, and while Gerard Gallant was installed this past offseason, those Hurricanes will be quite familiar with how a number of the current Rangers play their game. Former Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo has played a particularly active role for the Hurricanes during the postseason with eight points through seven games. 
• The Hurricanes owned the season series against the Blue Shirts this past year with New York going 1-3 over the four regular-season meetings. The Rangers’ only win of the tear against the Hurricanes came on March 20 in a 2-0 win in Carolina. Technically this will not be the two sides’ first time meeting in the postseason either, where Carolina also had the upper hand. The Hurricanes swept the Rangers out of the 2020 bubble playoffs in three games and outscored them 11-4. 
• The Rangers have had to battle back three times in the playoffs to make it out of the first round and that’s not a strategy that can last throughout the postseason. New York will need to play a full 60 minutes against the Hurricanes and Igor Shesterkin needs to build upon his performance in the final game of the first round for the Rangers to pull off a series victory. 

For more Rangers news, visit AMNY.com