Carolina Hurricanes await the winner of Game 7

The New York Rangers go into Game Seven against the Penguins knowing that if they can win, they will be facing the Carolina Hurricanes who beat the Boston Bruins Saturday to take their series.

The Hurricanes won 3-2 in a game they never trailed, before a raucous home crowd in Raleigh.  Their offensive star was Max Domi who scored his first two goals of the playoffs.  The two goals matched his total in 19 games for Carolina after he came over in a trade deadline deal with Columbus.

The final score is closer than the game as the Bruins’ David Pastrnak was able to score Boston’s second goal with the goalie pulled and only 22 seconds left.  There was mad scramble as the game ended, but the Bruins were done.

With the win, the Hurricanes have now won six straight Game Sevens dating back to 2006.  That ties the NHL record held by three other teams including the Rangers who did it from 2012-2015.

All those ex-Rangers

The Hurricanes won the game with five former Rangers in the lineup. Netminder Antti Raanta was in goal, but looks to be replaced in the next round by Frederik Andersen.  Jesper Fast is a defensive stalwart for the Canes, as he was in New York.

What is somewhat perplexing for Rangers fans is the fact that half of the Hurricanes’ defense is made up of former Rangers Tony DeAngelo, Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith.  DeAngelo has revived his career this season in Carolina and Skjei is on the top pair with Brett Pesce.

The bizarre twist is that Brendan Smith is a regular on the third defense pairing, teamed with Ian Cole. Remember that Smith couldn’t crack the top six defensemen for the Rangers the last two seasons, but he is a regular on the best team in the Metropolitan Division.

If you watched the game you saw Smith commit a classic gaffe, shooting the puck into the stands while the Canes were clinging to a third period 3-1 lead.  It was vintage Brendan Smith.

If the Rangers make it to the second round, the Hurricanes will be a formidable opponent.  Carolina should be pretty confident knowing that they beat the Blueshirts pretty soundly in three of four games while the Rangers’ only win was a 2-0 shutout stolen by Alexandar Georgiev.

However, as we all know, with the playoffs it’s a whole new season and we can throw the regular season results out the window.  Just ask the Penguins.