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.