New York advanced with a 4-3 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Carolina eliminated the Boston Bruins with a 3-2 win in Game 7 of the first round at PNC Arena on Saturday.
The Hurricanes, who are the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division, will have home-ice advantage against the Rangers, the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan.
"It's relief, the first round for me is always the most emotional," coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's always the one that's the most intense and then you're like, this goes on for, you're hoping, another month and a half. It sucks out a little of everybody as it goes along. So sometimes getting through the first round is actually the toughest because it's so emotional and then the next round will be emotional, but I think it kind of dies down a little bit as you go along.
"So getting through this round sometimes is huge in that regard. And then now it's just getting refocused. That will be the next challenge."
Defensemen Tony DeAngelo (one goal, seven assists) and Jaccob Slavin (two goals, six assists) led the Hurricanes with eight points in the first round, and center Vincent Trocheck (three goals, four assists) and forward Teuvo Teravainen (two goals, five assists) each had seven. Forward Max Domi had two goals and an assist in Game 7 to finish with five points (two goals, three assists), as did centers Sebastian Aho (two goals, three assists) and Seth Jarvis (three goals, two assists).
Goalie Antti Raanta won three of the four games against the Bruins, and rookie Pyotr Kochetkov was 1-1 with a 3.31 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. Frederik Andersen did not play in the series because of a lower-body injury he sustained on April 16.
Carolina was 3-1-0 against New York, with Aho leading the team with seven points (three goals, four assists). Trocheck (two goals, two assists), Jarvis (two goals, two assists), forward Andrei Svechnikov (one goal, three assists) and defenseman Brady Skjei (four assists) each had four points.
Andersen was 2-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .914 save percentage against the Rangers, and Kochetkov made 31 saves in a 4-3 win on April 26. Raanta, who played for the Rangers from 2015-17, has played one career game against New York, a 2-1 shootout loss on Jan. 6, 2018, as a member of the Arizona Coyotes.
Forward Chris Kreider led the Rangers with six points (four goals, two assists) and scored a goal in each of the four regular-season games. Center Mika Zibanejad had five points (one goal, four assists), and defenseman K'Andre Miller and forward Frank Vatrano each had one goal and two assists.
Igor Shesterkin was 0-2-0 with a 3.63 GAA and .883 save percentage. Alexandar Georgiev was 1-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA, .924 save percentage and one shutout.
"They play a fast, physical game," Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said of the Hurricanes. "They get in on the forecheck. We have to take advantage of opportunities when we get them."
Carolina, which advanced to the second round for the third time in four seasons, defeated New York in three games in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers in 2020.
NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report
