RALEIGH, N.C. — It’s Rangers-Hurricanes in the second round.
Again.
The Hurricanes put away the Islanders on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first round series, 6-3, to set up a rematch of the 2022 second round, in which the Rangers beat Carolina in seven.
That series was the only time the Rangers and Hurricanes have faced each other in a true playoff setting, with the 2020 Preliminary Round in the Toronto Bubble being the first postseason match between the sides.
The Hurricanes swept the Rangers in three games that season, though it’s debatable whether that is considered a playoff series.
Carolina is the early betting favorite between the two sides this year, though the Rangers have home-ice advantage and held the better record during the regular season.
The Rangers won two of three regular-season games against the ’Canes, with a 6-1 January loss at the Garden the most lopsided match in either direction.
The Rangers had an easier time in their first-round series than Carolina as well, putting together their first four-game sweep since 2007 with a superior-in-all-aspects performance against the Capitals.
The Hurricanes ultimately put away the Islanders without too much sweat, but were pushed in individual games throughout the series and were probably a little lucky to avoid it going six or more games.
This battle for Metropolitan Division supremacy represents the first potential stumbling block for a Rangers side that cruised through the regular season and for which anything other than a first championship in 30 years would be a disappointment.
That is the A-plot of a series that comes with a slew of juicy B-plots.
Carolina’s stable of former Rangers — Brady Skjei, Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Lemieux — along with Jack Drury facing the side his uncle Chris constructed.
The potential for Filip Chytil to make a dramatic return to the ice after being ruled out for the season due to struggles recovering from a suspected concussion.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette facing the franchise he led to the 2006 Stanley Cup and Vincent Trocheck returning to Raleigh as a villain.
Matt Rempe getting another series in which he will surely be at the center of the discourse.
This should be an airtight battle decided on the margins, and a significantly tougher test than either team faced in the first round.