New York Should Give Carolina Fits In Qualifying Round

• The Carolina Hurricanes will be favored over the New York Rangers in the Qualifying Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but New York could be poised to spring an upset.

• Recent history in this series has been dominated by the Rangers, as they took all four battles against the Hurricanes this season.

• Given Henrik Lundqvist’s recent history against the Hurricanes, New York’s veteran goalie could end up being a difference-maker in the series.

• At +110 to win the series, the Rangers provide bettors with a solid return on investments.

Carolina’s Fear Coming To Fruition

It’s worth noting that the Carolina Hurricanes were one of two teams to vote against the playoff format that the NHL agreed upon. Part of that is because the Hurricanes knew they would be matched up against the New York Rangers in the Qualifying Round. That’s not exactly the kind of attitude you’d expect from a team that was ahead of the Rangers in the standings when the season was suspended. Clearly, the Rangers were one of the last teams the Hurricanes wanted to see in the playoffs. Carolina doesn’t appear to have much confidence in facing New York, which should give the Rangers a psychological edge.

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History On New York’s Side

New York and Carolina have met four times this season with the Rangers winning all four meetings, three of which were won by at least two goals. It doesn’t stop there, as the Rangers have won 31 of their last 37 games against the Hurricanes. Carolina hasn’t won the season series against New York since the 2005-06 season. Those numbers are staggering and point to a huge mismatch when these two sides share the ice. If the Hurricanes have just six wins over the Rangers in the last nine seasons, how are they going to win a best-of-five series?

Reliable Goalie With Experience

Obviously, no goalie will enter this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs on a hot streak, but the Rangers have one in Henrik Lundqvist who can get hot in a hurry. Granted, he’s been splitting time with Alexandar Georgiev this season, but one has to think the Rangers will lean on their veteran when play resumes. In his three games against Carolina this season, Lundqvist has a .947 save percentage. More importantly, the Hurricanes lack the depth and high-end talent that the top NHL teams possess. Even New York’s leaky defense should be able to hold its own, and if Lundqvist can get his confidence up early in the series, he can lead the Rangers past Carolina and into the next round.

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