Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7, second in the Metropolitan Division) vs. New York Rangers (55-23-4, first in the Metropolitan Division)
New York; Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Hurricanes -115, Rangers -105; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND: Rangers host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers host the Carolina Hurricanes to begin the Eastern Conference second round. The teams meet Tuesday for the fourth time this season. The Rangers went 2-1 against the Hurricanes during the regular season. In their last regular season meeting on March 12, the Rangers won 1-0.
New York has a 22-8-0 record in Metropolitan Division play and a 55-23-4 record overall. The Rangers have a 48-7-3 record when scoring at least three goals.
Carolina is 20-6-5 against the Metropolitan Division and 52-23-7 overall. The Hurricanes have a 20-11-2 record when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent.
TOP PERFORMERS: Artemi Panarin has 49 goals and 71 assists for the Rangers. Chris Kreider has five goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
Jake Guentzel has 30 goals and 47 assists for the Hurricanes. Andrei Svechnikov has three goals and eight assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 8-2-0, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.7 assists, 4.1 penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.
Hurricanes: 8-1-1, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.1 assists, 3.3 penalties and 9.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game.
INJURIES: Rangers: Blake Wheeler: out for season (lower-body), Filip Chytil: out for season (upper-body).
Hurricanes: Jesper Fast: out for season (upper body), Brett Pesce: out (lower body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
