The second-round matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers is officially set. Both of these teams look much different than when they did battle during the 2020 playoff qualifiers in the bubble. The Canes of course easily took that series in three games but this series will not be nearly as easy. There are some things the Hurricanes MUST do in order to have success in this best-of-seven.
Special teams
We can go ahead and get the easy one out of the way. The Hurricanes had a 13.9 powerplay percentage, which is twelfth among the sixteen playoff teams.