For the third time in five years, the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes are going to meet in the playoffs. The Hurricanes dispatched of the New York Islanders in 5 games, finishing the series last night. Both teams now wait for the rest of the first round to shake out, with 4 series still undecided.

The Rangers and Hurricanes met twice before in the playoffs, with the Canes sweeping the Rangers in the 2020 bubble and the Rangers taking down the Canes in 7 games in 2022, winning Games 6 and 7 by a combined score of 11-4.

This time, both teams are viewed as top teams in the NHL and one of four or five teams that can realistically win the Stanley Cup. Both teams cruised to first round victories, and will have harsh wakeup calls against their much stronger opponent this series.

This season, the teams met three times, with Carolina winning the first and third games by scores of 2-1 and 1-0, respectively. The Rangers took the second game by a 6-1 score.

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