GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Vincent Trocheck chose to be cagey when he was being asked about the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
He attempted to dodge questions about his history with the Hurricanes by saying they're just another opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He brushed off the idea that he may have added value to the New York Rangers because he played for Carolina as recently as two seasons ago.
The Rangers will play the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Second Round. Game 1 of the best-of-7 series will be at Madison Square Garden on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; ESPN).
"I mean, what you see is what you get with this team," Trocheck said about the Hurricanes. "They're an honest, hard playing team and they play the same way every night, so what you see on tape is what you get."
The fact is that nobody with the Rangers knows better than Trocheck what the Hurricanes are all about and the details that make them successful, from their aggressive forecheck to their man-to-man defense to their family-friendly atmosphere at the rink.
Trocheck played with the Hurricanes from Feb. 24, 2020, when he was traded to Carolina from the Florida Panthers, through the end of their second round seven-game series loss to the Rangers in 2022. He led Carolina with three goals in that series against New York.
Trocheck signed a seven-year contract with the Rangers on July 13, 2022.
Now, he's the center on their most productive line, a key cog on their first power-play unit, the first forward out the door on the penalty kill, their best face-off man, a regular in 5-on-6 and 6-on-5 situations, and one of their best sources of information about the Hurricanes.
"We're doing everything we can to prepare and make sure you're well informed and ready for what tendencies they have and what they try to do, and obviously it's a great insight with 'Tro' and hopefully that helps out," Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said on Wednesday that he and his coaching staff had already talked to Trocheck about the Hurricanes, who weren't officially New York's second-round opponent until Tuesday night, when they eliminated the New York Islanders to advance.
The Hurricanes had a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series against the Islanders going into Game 5 on Tuesday, so the Rangers had good reason to start doing their homework early, and clearly digging into Trocheck's brain, however deep it went, was part of the assignment.
"I think it's just a little bit of insight about how they play the game or particular players that maybe [Trocheck] has some insight on," Laviolette said. "I always feel like I know the players better after I coached them, probably the same thing can be said for a player after he played with somebody. Any information you can have can be an advantage."
Of course, Laviolette wasn't about to share the knowledge or insight he's gotten from Trocheck. Zibanejad wouldn't do that either. And Trocheck clearly didn't want to engage too far. In fact, though he said he remains close with some players he played with who are still with the Hurricanes, he wouldn't name names when asked who they are.
"That's personal and I'll keep it between me and them," Trocheck said.
That won't matter in the second round. Friendships get put on hold in the playoffs. Heck, brothers Ryan Lindgren, a Rangers defenseman, and Charlie Lindgren, the Washington Capitals goalie, agreed to not talk at all during the first round until it was over.
What will matter for the Rangers is the insight Trocheck can give them, which, for example, could be a heads-up on what to expect at the face-off dot. Among players to take at least 20 face-offs in the playoffs, Trocheck ranks first, winning 71.2 percent (52-for-73).
The Hurricanes practice face-offs all the time, usually with coach Rod Brind'Amour dropping the puck, and Trocheck used to regularly take them against Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho, in particular.
Staal and Aho won't be new to Trocheck and New York's other centers, including Zibanejad, Alex Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow, but some tips can't hurt, especially if Trocheck might notice something in a game that could make a difference in the Rangers gaining possession.
"That's obviously a little bit different to have someone who's practiced against those guys for that long," Zibanejad said. "I think it's easy to have the conversation. If someone is struggling and someone is having success against that guy, you can talk about it and go through it and see what you can do differently. It's obviously huge going into Game 1 to have that too."
It works both ways, though.
The Hurricanes obviously know Trocheck and his tendencies in all aspects of the game too. That could play to their advantage, especially because Trocheck is such an integral part in everything the Rangers do.
"He walked me a couple times in practice, so I know some of his tricks, but it doesn't make it any easier," Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "You have that in the back of your brain, but he plays a hard game."
Trocheck has played his best game all season with the Rangers, more productive and more consistent than he ever was with the Hurricanes.
As much as they know him, they know that too.
"He's been unbelievable for them," Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov said. "I watched a few games in the playoffs. He's going to find his way to score goals, and he always plays hard. It's going to be a good battle against him. Hopefully, we're not going to give him much room out there."
NHL.com independent correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report
