(2M) Rangers at (1M) Hurricanes
20:00 ET; ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS
Hurricanes lead the best of 7 series with 1-0
The Carolina Hurricanes will try to extend their home run of Stanley Cup playoffs to six games and increase their lead in the second round of the Eastern Conference when they play the New York Rangers in Game 2 of the PNC Arena on Friday.
They will be the first team to start the post-season with a home winning streak of six games or more after the Nashville Predators in 2017.
The Hurricanes won 2-1 after extra time in Game 1 on Wednesday, when they lost 1-0, while Sebastian Aho scored 2:23 remaining in the third period. Ian Cole scored 3:12 after extra time.
“It’s good that we won this game and we obviously know it wasn’t good in the first two periods,” said Hurricanes striker Andrei Svechnikov. “The third period we went out and played [our] game. We need to move the game [Game 2]”
[RELATED: Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
The Rangers were one of the toughest teams in the NHL, with 27 regular season wins and three straight against the Pittsburgh Penguins in games 5, 6 and 7 of the first round to avoid elimination and eventually win the series after losing 3 -1.
They also felt good about playing on Wednesday despite losing, and coach Gerard Galant said he thought they would win Game 2 if they replayed Game 1.
“I hope we can play the same way as in the first two periods for three periods tonight,” Galant said. “That would be perfect for our team.”
The teams that lead 2-0 in the playoff series for the top 7 NHL are 339-52 (86.7 percent), including 2-0 in the first round. The Hurricanes led 2-0 against the Boston Bruins in the first round and won the series in seven games.
Here are 3 keys to Game 2:
1. A better start for Carolina
Rangers controlled the first two periods of Game 1, and Hurricanes lost 1-0 just because goalkeeper Anti Raanta was stable, making 22 saves in two periods.
“Raants keeps us in this game,” said Hurricane striker Vincent Trocek. “If it weren’t for him, it could have been 4-0 in two.
The Hurricanes found their game in the third period, when they finally attacked the Rangers and put them fifth. But they can’t play with fire like that again.
They need to establish a preliminary check early and try to own more of the middle of the ice than in the first two periods of Game 1. If not, it will be Raanta again, a difficult task against a team as skilled as New York.
“The good news is that we won and there are some guys who could probably play better,” said Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour. “I see that as a positive.”
2. Panarin must find his game
Artemi Panarin was not a big factor for the offensive in match 1, as he was held without points and two shots on goal at 18:01 ice time. In addition, if the Rangers striker was faster in backing, he could have prevented Aho from scoring.
New York needs Panarin’s dynamic game in Game 2, but he said part of the game plan for him in Game 1 is to limit the risk he usually plays because the Rangers clung to a 1-0 lead and played , as he called it, “a pretty conservative game.”
“It’s not great, but sometimes you have to do it,” Panarin said. “It depends on the situation in the match. If we lose a few [goals] you need to start playing normally. For example, I would like to do something stupid [stuff] on the blue line, but I can’t. “
Panarin said he doesn’t mind playing with less risk if the Rangers play the way they did in Game 1. But in Game 2, having more puck on his stick will be important, whether or not he takes risks.
“When you play with the puck more, it’s a better feeling,” Panarin said. “But I’m a 30-year-old, so I’m patient now. I feel good.”
3. Discipline of hurricanes
In Game 1 there were two overlapping penalties and each team was given 27 seconds of power play time, each being 0-for-1.
This is perfect for the Hurricanes, who do not want to feed the powerful game of Rangers, which is in fourth place in the playoffs with 30.0 percent, after finishing fourth in the regular season with 25.2 percent.
“I personally would prefer that. I like our chances in the 5 on 5 game, “said Carolina defender Brett Pesche. “We hope we can continue to stay out of the box.”
Rangers predict lineup
Chris Crider – Mika Zibanedjad – Frank Vatrano
Artemi Panarin – Ryan Stroome – Andrew Cop
Alexis Lafrenier – Philip Chitil – Kaapo Kakko
Tyler Mott – Kevin Rooney – Ryan Reeves
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trumpet
Justin Brown – Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Alexander Georgiev
Scratched: Patrick Nemeth, Libor Hayek, Greg McKeg, Julien Gauthier, Johnny Brodzinski, Dryden Hunt
wounded: Barclay Goodrow (lower body), Sammy Blaise (knee)
The planned composition of the hurricanes
Seth Jarvis – Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen
Andrei Svechnikov – Vincent Trochek – Martin Nekas
Nino Niederreiter – Jordan Staal – Jesper Fast
Max Domi – Jespery Kotkaniemi – Steven Lorenz
Jacob Slavin – Tony DeAngelo
Brady Scjay – Brett Pesch
Brendan Smith – Ian Cole
Anti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched: Ethan Bear, Derek Stepan
wounded: Frederick Andersen (lower body), Jordan Martinuk (lower body)
Status report
Rangers had an optional morning skate. … The Hurricanes will play with the same lines that finished game 1. … Martinuk will take part in the morning skating, but the striker will miss his sixth consecutive game.
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