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New York Rangers: Storylines to watch out for in Second Round series against Hurricanes

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 12: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers celebrates after becoming the fourth player in New York Rangers history to score 50 goals in a season in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 12: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers celebrates after becoming the fourth player in New York Rangers history to score 50 goals in a season in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 26: (L-R) Jordan Martinook #48, Derek Stepan #18 and Tony DeAngelo #77 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepare for warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 26, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 26: (L-R) Jordan Martinook #48, Derek Stepan #18 and Tony DeAngelo #77 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepare for warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 26, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Hello, old friends

Given they play in the same division, the Rangers and the Hurricanes are pretty familiar with each other, but it goes way deeper than that between these two teams.

When you speak of connections, Carolina has no fewer than six former Blueshirts on their roster, including goalie Antti Raanta, defensemen Brady Skjei and Tony DeAngelo and forward Jesper Fast to name just a few.

Raanta has been brilliant in the absence of starter Frederik Andersen, who is set to miss the Second Round with a lower-body injury, going 3-2 with a 2.37 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage in six starts against the Boston Bruins in Round One.

DeAngelo has really found his came for the Canes this postseason and is an offensive force on the backend, contributing eight points (one goal, seven assists) with five of those points (one goal, four assists) coming on the power play.

Derek Stepan has been scratched for four games and is without a point in the playoffs so far but his postseason experience will count for a lot.  Skjei will use the body and both Fast and Brendan Smith are gritty, hard-nosed veterans that won’t give their former team an easy ride, so any friendships will be put on hold for the duration of this series.

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