There are a lot of areas where the Hurricanes don’t match up well with the Rangers, but this side of the special teams battle shouldn’t be one.
It shouldn’t be.
On paper, the Canes should feast upon the Rangers’ penalty kill, but it played out differently in the clubs’ four meetings this season.
Carolina went 2-for-17 on the man advantage against New York during the regular season, good for an abysmal 11.8% efficiency rate.
On the whole, the Canes power play was hugely improved from the 2018-19 season. Hamilton’s presence on the first unit brought some real life to the group, and the multi-dimensional offensive play from Svechnikov and Teravainen combined for a dynamic three-man group on the outside, opening up real estate inside the dots for Aho and the likes of Niederreiter, Justin Williams, Ryan Dzingel, and Erik Haula.