RALEIGH, N.C. — Before the Hurricanes’ Game 5 win in Manhattan, forward Evgeny Kuznetsov said the Rangers knew this was going to be hell.
In a way, the fact that the Rangers ended up in this position after Game 6 is hell in itself.
It’s not just that the Blueshirts have fumbled two of their last three leads in playoff series, it’s also that this 2024 team has won more in the No. 7 game than any team since 2007 during this playoff period. Because we built our advantage twice.
But you know what they say. The higher the climb, the longer the descent.
So the Rangers will have to head south and brave the road conditions to end this series for the third time.
“We’ve played there a lot and I know we’ve had success there before,” Ryan Lindgren told the Post after practice in Tarrytown on Wednesday. “We know what to expect from the building and are excited.”
It’s not like the Rangers made the playoffs and went back to their old ways.
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No, they barely broke a sweat through the first round and wasted no time finishing the series against a much lower-ranked opponent in Washington, but it was still a testament to their ability.
But their performance in Game 5 of this second-round series against the Hurricanes was not the 2023-24 Rangers we know.
The Rangers we’ve seen all year got the job done.
They won when it mattered most, and they usually did so convincingly. Regardless of the situation, the obstacle, or the opponent.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said of the last game, in which the Rangers blew a 1-0 lead at the start, “From what I know, it was a realization that it wasn’t us, it wasn’t who we wanted to be.” It often happens,” he said. The third period en route to a 4-1 loss, the first multiple-goal loss of the postseason. “Many times this year, they fixed it.”
So out of all the teams, the Hurricanes pushing back against the Rangers is a pretty good fit considering how the regular season played out.
Carolina has won the Central Division the past two years and in 2021-22 and was the only team to truly challenge the Rangers for the Metropolitan Division standings this season.
Each time the Canes threatened the Rangers’ 175-day No. 1 record, they kept their distance with steady wins.
Now that the Hurricanes have stopped a two-game losing streak, the two clubs are closer than ever.
The Rangers’ road trip ended in Game 6.
If it ends up being Game 7, anything can happen.
PNC Arena has primarily been a fortress for the Hurricanes, who are tied for the second-best home record in the NHL since the 2021-22 season with 84 wins, 28 losses, and 11 losses.
However, it hasn’t had that much of an impact on the Rangers in recent years.
Over the past two seasons, the Rangers are a combined 4-1 against Carolina.
Additionally, the Rangers defeated the Canes in Game 7 of the second round in 2022 to advance to the conference finals.
“I think as we get into the playoffs, it becomes a reality that we’re going to try to win a Stanley Cup,” Jimmy Vesey said. “I don’t know if anyone said it this year, but I heard the words, ‘If we win the Stanley Cup, it’s going to be the hardest thing ever.'” That means there is, and obviously it’s going to be even bigger in the playoffs.
“We’ve managed our ups and downs well all year, and this is no different. We just have to go out and win hockey games.”
