As I warned, the list of players on the Carolina Hurricanes who have underperformed against the Rangers throughout their career far outweighs yesterday’s list of players who overperform against New York. Given the fact that the Rangers are pegged by many as the favourite in the series, this doesn’t make Carolina's odds look much better. If you haven't read the list of underperformers, you can do so here:
Otherwise, here are the players who have underperformed against the Rangers throughout their career:
SEBASTIAN AHO
Aho is one of Carolina’s stars up front but unfortunately, he hasn’t produced at his usual rate against the Rangers. In 16 games against New York, he does have six goals but has also registered just nine points, an average of 0.56 points per game, which is much lower than his career average of 0.85 points per game.
RYAN DZINGEL
Dzingel should only be counted on for secondary scoring and though he had a goal and an assist in four games against New York this year, his stats against the Rangers prior to this season were poor. Before joining the Hurricanes, Dzingel had just two points in eight games against New York all-time.
JOEL EDMUNDSON
I hesitate to put defenders on here based on stats because offensive numbers for defensemen don’t tell the whole story, which doesn’t make it very fair. That said, Edmundson has just one point and a minus-two rating in 11 career games against the Rangers and though he’ll be in a smaller role in the playoffs than he took on during the regular season, history says the Hurricanes shouldn’t expect much offense from him against New York.
JAKE GARDINER
I don’t feel as bad about putting Gardiner on here because he’s a defenseman who’s greatest strength is his offensive ability. However, against the Rangers he’s managed just six points in 23 games for just a 0.26 points per game average, compared to his 0.43 career points per game average. I’m in favour of keeping Gardiner out of the lineup during the playoffs once Brett Pesce returns and though these numbers probably don’t mean much, the fact that he hasn’t been able to produce well against the Rangers throughout his career is another argument for that point.
PETR MRAZEK
It probably doesn’t make you feel much better about Carolina’s already inconsistent goaltending to know that Mrazek usually doesn’t do so well against the Rangers. In his career, he has a 3-4 record and an .886 save percentage in seven games against New York and also allowed 10 goals on 78 shots in three games against the Rangers this season.
NINO NIEDERREITER
Niederreiter already had a down year for the Hurricanes production-wise and to add to that, he also has just two goals and six points in 22 games against the Rangers throughout his career, which isn’t ideal for a team that would really benefit from him stepping up playing like a top-six forward.
JAMES REIMER
One Hurricanes goalie with a bad record against New York? Nope, both. Reimer has a 3.54 goals against average and a .893 save percentage in 12 career games against the Rangers, so if Mrazek doesn’t perform in the playoffs, it's not great knowing Carolina's backup also doesn’t have a great record against New York.
TEUVO TERAVAINEN
Teravainen is another star forward for the Hurricanes who hasn’t performed great against New York throughout his career. He has just three goals and nine points in 20 games against the Rangers and will be counted on for much better production during the qualifying round.
TREVOR VAN RIEMSDYK
Van Riemsdyk probably isn’t going to play in the series based on Carolina’s depth on defense and maybe that’s not the worst thing based on his track record. In 15 career games against the Rangers, he has just one point and a minus-six rating.
SAMI VATANEN
Vatanen has yet to play a game for the Hurricanes but will likely take a spot in the top-four until Brett Pesce is able to return. He does, however, have just two points in 11 career games against New York with a minus-two rating.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Hurricanes Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Canes for updates on articles, Hurricanes news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
What's your prediction for Carolina's goaltending situation in the series?