3 things to know about Rangers vs. Hurricanes second-round NHL playoff series

The matchup NHL fans have been anticipating is officially locked in.

Two days after the New York Rangers completed their first-round sweep of the Washington Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes have also punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals. They defeated the New York Islanders on Tuesday, 6-3, to end their opening playoff series in five games.

That means, for the second time in three years, it'll be Blueshirts vs. Canes in the second round.

Analysis: These 5 Rangers looked playoff-ready while sweeping Capitals

Even with both teams advancing quickly, they're going to have to wait a while to get back at it. The league has yet to announce a start date for their series, but the expectation is that Game 1 at Madison Square Garden won't be played until Sunday at the earliest.

In the meantime, let's take our initial look at what to expect from the Rangers' next opponent.

A budding rivalry

There isn't much of a historic rivalry between these two teams, but it's certainly heated up in recent years.

The first-ever playoff meeting between New York and Carolina didn't come until 2020 under bizarre circumstances. That was the year the NHL paused for five months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and expanded its playoff field, which allowed the still-rebuilding Rangers to sneak in. They got swept with ease in front of an empty arena in the Toronto bubble.

Two years later, the Blueshirts earned a measure of revenge. They lost out to the Hurricanes for first place in the Metro Division during the 2021-22 season, but ousted them from the playoffs in seven games. The home team won each of the first six contests before the Rangers silenced the Raleigh, N.C. crowd with a lopsided 6-2 victory in Game 7.

That makes this third playoff meeting a rubber match of sorts, with both teams trading punches in the lead up to this series. It's been that way in the regular season, as well, with New York winning two of three meetings despite being outscored by a 7-4 margin thanks to Carolina's 6-1 win on Jan. 2.

While teams like the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins have aged and faded, the Rangers and Canes have emerged as the Metro's true title contenders. Now they'll add a new chapter in this budding rivalry, with the winner likely to be viewed as a Stanley Cup favorite.

Improved firepower

The modern-day Canes have been defined by speed, a swarming forecheck and a high-shot-volume philosophy, all of which has combined to make them a possession machine and one of the NHL's analytical darlings. They've ranked as a top-five xGF team for three straight seasons, including a No. 2 finish with a 56.69% xGF this season, according to Evolving Hockey.

Rod Brind'Amour has rightfully earned the reputation as one of the league's most effective bench bosses, with an energetic motivational style and uncanny ability to make his system work regardless of personnel. That makes the 2023-24 Hurricanes an especially dangerous opponent, because this looks like Brind'Amour's best roster yet.

The talent infusion began with the offseason signing of defenseman Dmitry Orlov and return of big-and-skilled winger Andrei Svechnikov, who missed last year's playoffs after tearing his right ACL. The continuing rise of young forwards Seth Jarvis and Martin Nečas added even more scoring depth, then came the biggest splash of the trade deadline.

The Rangers were one of several teams highly interested in acquiring dynamic winger Jake Guentzel from the Penguins, but they ultimately lost out to Carolina's package of four players and two draft picks. That gave the Canes a proven top-line winger with championship experience and a point-per-game career average in the playoffs.

Guentzel has fit like a glove in Brind'Amour's high-octane system, notching 25 points (eight goals and 17 assists) in 17 regular-season games plus another four points (one goal and three assists) in the first-round series against the Isles. It'll be especially deflating if he burns the Blueshirts after they declined to pony up the prospect capital required to keep him away from Carolina.

The Canes aren't quite at full strength, with forward Jesper Fast (neck) and defenseman Brett Pesce (lower-body injury) both expected to miss the rest of the playoffs. But they're still deeper than they've been in years and represent a major step (or two) up in competition after a favorable first-round matchup with the old-and-slow Caps.

Special teams showdown

The Rangers' biggest advantage against Washington came on special teams, but that won't be the case in round two.

The only team you could argue had better special teams than the Blueshirts this season was the Hurricanes. New York ranked third in the league in both power play (26.4%) and penalty kill (84.5%), but Carolina was ahead in both categories with the No. 2 PP (26.9%) and No. 1 PK (86.4%).

The Canes didn't dominate the Isles in the same fashion as the Rangers did against the Caps, but it's unclear if that momentum will carry throughout this long layoff. What is clear is that Carolina grades out as the better team at five-on-five and New York has an obvious edge in goaltending, which could make special teams the deciding factor that tips the scales in either direction.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 3 things to know about Rangers vs. Hurricanes NHL playoff series