Many are predicting that out of all of the qualifying round matchups, the most likely upset would be the New York Rangers defeating the Carolina Hurricanes. Perhaps the most significant reason as to why it’s a possibility is the advantage the Rangers have in goal. As I continue my previews for the Hurricanes/Rangers series, this article will take a look at each team’s situation in net.
New York legitimately has three goalies they could use in their series against Carolina. Henrik Lundqvist has more playoff experience than most goalies around the league and on top of that, he was excellent against the Hurricanes this season. He may be in decline but the fact that he went 3-0 against the Hurricanes this year, posting a .947 save percentage in the process, is concerning. Now factor in that through 46 career games against Carolina, he holds a 33-12-1 record and .934 save percentage and yeah, that’s not great for the Hurricanes.
Aside from Lundqvist, New York has not one, but two other goalies who could cause the Hurricanes trouble. Alexander Georgiev had a .910 save percentage in 34 games with the Rangers this year but perhaps the more notable goalie to worry about would be Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin may have only played 12 NHL games this year, but he was a star in the KHL and also had a .932 save percentage in his limited action with New York. He also stopped 27 of 29 shots in his only game against Carolina this year, on route to a Rangers victory.
As for the Hurricanes, their goaltending situation is much less secure. Petr Mrazek is inconsistent and was maybe on the verge of losing the starting job to James Reimer, after posting a .905 save percentage this season. Reimer, on the other hand, had a good year, posting a .914 save percentage, but he’s generally not much more consistent than Mrazek. Carolina will almost surely start Mrazek but if this was up to me, I’d at least consider starting Reimer instead. He may be less consistent from year to year but he’s at least usually more consistent from game to game. A reason to be concerned with either goalie, however: Mrazek’s career save percentage against the Rangers: .886 in seven games. Reimer’s save percentage: .893 in 12 games.
It’s no secret the Rangers have a massive advantage in net. If Carolina had even one of New York’s three goalies, they’d be in a pretty good spot but as it stands right now, the Rangers’ goaltending could potentially lead them to a series victory.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Which team do you think will have the better goaltending in the series?
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