Carolina Hurricanes: Five Players that Could Ruin the Season

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The Carolina Hurricanes face the Rangers in the qualifying round

While the Carolina Hurricanes are focusing on their own game, here are five guys on New York that could potentially end their playoff push before it technically even starts.

As the Carolina Hurricanes get set to face off against the New York Rangers in a best of five play-in series, there are certain guys to keep eye on each and every game. These guys have had a history of not only producing against the Canes but pretty much the entire league. Some of these names are to be expected, while others may come as a bit of a surprise.

The Rangers, a team thought to be in the rebuilding stage at the start of the year, could feed off of these individuals and ride them towards the postseason. With a small margin for error, it isn’t going to take much in terms of momentum to shift this series one way or another, especially without fans in the building to feed off of.

While all the time off and short training camp make this feel like an entirely different season, it goes without saying that you have to think the players all know what occurred during the regular-season series. No matter how much they say it doesn’t matter, in the back of their mind, it’ll eat at their confidence for better or worse. The start will be extremely important for both teams in determining who will shake off the rust and jitters first.

So, without further ado, here are five New York Rangers players that could derail the Carolina Hurricanes playoff aspirations and send them home from Toronto early.

Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad

Can the Carolina Hurricanes keep up with these forwards?

Starting off with an easy one, Artemi Panarin is one of the most prolific forwards in the entire league. A finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, there is no question his arrival on Broadway accelerated the Blue Shirts rebuild.

He finds different ways to beat you, and his 95 points in 69 games this season is a clear indicator of that. Tied for third in league scoring, second in assist and second in +/-, he clearly is going to be difficult to shut down.

Mika Zibanejad is the same way. Quietly becoming an elite number one center for New York, he managed to put up 41 goals in just 57 contests. I don’t know how he hasn’t gotten more attention around the league, but if he were to have played the same amount of games as the two Rocket winners (David Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin) he would have been the one to finish first in the NHL in goal scoring.

His 1.31 points per game put him on the same level as guys like Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon. What makes Zibanejad stand out is the fact that he is more of a quiet player. He just seemly does all the little things right and finds a way to beat you.

To put it as simple as possible, Panarin and Zibanejad are going to produce and put up big points. Both of these guys are elite and will find a way to get on the score sheet no matter how tightly you defend them.

In the four-game regular-season series the duo alone combined for a whopping seven goals, nine assists, and sixteen points against the Hurricanes. While those numbers are very impressive, Mika didn’t even play in all four games. Missing time with an injury, it is scary to think that the point total could have been even higher.

Over their entire careers, both guys have produced at a point per game pace versus Carolina. In the playoffs their production is about the same, making it extremely important for the Canes to limit their chances as much as possible.

Adam Fox and Tony DeAngelo

Will these defenders shut down the Carolina Hurricanes?

On defense, Adam Fox is a guy who I can see becoming a “Canes killer.” Briefly apart of the organization, it was visibly clear to the fans that he had no intention of signing anywhere not named the New York Rangers even though Don Waddell stated multiple times that he was 99.9% sure they’d get a deal done.

Putting together a solid campaign for a rookie blueliner, his 42 points had him near the top of the list for both rookie and defense scoring. Three of those 42 points came against the Hurricanes in their four-game season series. Having a bit of confidence, against technically one of his former clubs, he is a guy who I think will have his presence felt at some point during the play-in round.

Tony DeAngelo is another guy on the Rangers’ defense that is known to put up big points. Finally finding his way on what is his third NHL franchise already, his 53 points in 68 games have him only behind the likes of John Carlson, Roman Josi, and Victor Hedman in defense scoring. With all three of those names Norris Trophy finalist, it is clear he has had a strong year.

Over his four year NHL career, he has played against the Hurricanes a total of eleven times. In those eleven contests, he has managed to get on the score sheet a total of nine times, two goals, and seven assists.

Like Fox, this will be his first taste of the postseason so it’ll be interesting to see how he will perform when things heat up a bit. Not one to shy away from the physical stuff, one would think that his style of play would translate nicely, making him one to watch in this series.

Henrik Lundqvist

The king has made life hard for the Carolina Hurricanes

Given how goaltending can make or break you in a short series like this it comes as no surprise to see a Rangers netminder on this list. I know technically the title said five players, but it has yet to be determined who will be manning the crease for the Blue Shirts just yet, and honestly, it doesn’t really matter.

Henrik Lundqvist has been dynamite against the Hurricanes in his career. Although I hate to admit it, he, for whatever reason, is just someone the Canes struggle to beat. Even though he has had one of his worst seasons in his entire career statistically this year, he still managed to sweep Carolina in the three games he played.

All-time, he has appeared in 46 games versus the Hurricanes and hosts an impressive 33-12-1 record. With a .934 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average, he’ll be a guy they’ll need to get to early and often, should he be given the nod.

The clear future number one, Igor Shesterkin has had a strong start to his NHL career. Going 10–2-0 on the year, he has helped propel the Rangers into play in rounds with his strong calming play.

Although it was just one game, it appears as if he is more of the same against Carolina, defeating the Hurricanes 5-2 in late February. The young Russian goalie is going to be just as difficult to beat as Lundqvist should he be the one given the nod instead.

Of course, rounding out New York’s three-headed monster in goal is Alexandar Georgiev. Although the Canes did manage to put up seven goals on him in a game early last season, he still has proven to be more than capable of stealing a game before.

Honorable Mentions

The Carolina Hurricanes should also watch these guys

A few more names to keep an eye on are Ryan Strome, Chris Kreider, and Pavel Buchnevich. Each of these three players makes up a large part of the Blue Shirts’ offensive behind Panarin and Zibanejad.

Coming off his best season statistically, Strome provides New York with much-needed depth. With 59 points and a +21 rating during the regular season, he has a bit of a two-way nature to his game. Filling in as the top-line center with Zibanejad out, it is possible that his numbers were a bit inflated with Panarin on his wing, but that is not to say he isn’t a decent player.

Kreider plays more of the power forward brand of hockey built for the postseason. This physical edge is what will make him a key piece for the Rangers throughout the series. The only thing here is that he is coming off an injury so it might take him a bit to get back up to speed, even with all the time off for everyone else.

Lastly, Buchnevich is a guy who seemly always scores or assists on that momentum draining goal late in games versus the Hurricanes. Not as high on the depth chart as some of the other names mentioned, he still knows how to score and produce offensively with 46 points on the year.

More from Cardiac Cane

I elected to leave all of these guys off the main list, as I believe the Carolina Hurricanes have more than enough depth throughout to shut these guys down. Unlike Panarin and Zibanejad they aren’t locked to get on the score sheet if properly defended. Taking away their time and space while limiting them to the outside should be more than enough to keep them in check.

While most of the information presented has been history, there’s no reason to believe it will repeat itself this time around. Last spring we saw the Canes defeat Washington in the playoffs, a team that had their number in the regular season. Given how deep the Hurricanes currently are, we could see a similar result this time around.

However, if any of the names mentioned aren’t kept in check, the Hurricanes season could be over before it really ever started back up, resulting in them hoping for lottery luck rather than making a run at the cup.

Trending. Fox Sports Carolinas to Broadcast Qualifying Round. light

Question for CC readers: Who do think will be the hardest Ranger to contain and shut down throughout the series?

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Carolina Hurricanes: Five Rangers that Could Ruin the Season