Rangers special teams has been driving force behind 2-0 lead vs. Hurricanes in second-round series

The Rangers’ dominant regular season has certainly carried over to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Through six postseason games, the Blueshirts are undefeated after Tuesday night’s 4-3 double-overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.

Having already disposed of the Washington Capitals in the first round, the Rangers are now heading to Raleigh with the opportunity to extend their lead to 3-0 in this second round series. Carolina (111 points) was slightly favored entering the series despite finishing second in the Metropolitan Division to the Rangers (114) during the regular season.

“When you finish high in the standings, you’re playing a team a couple points behind you,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “They are a good team, they’re a really good team. It isn’t going to be a control all 60 minutes and move on to the next game. You’re going to have to fight just to get your share of half of the minutes to go your way.”

“That’s probably the way that it is from here on out. That’s playoff hockey.”

Special teams have been the difference thus far. The Rangers converted 2-of-7 power-play chances in Game 2. The last one was Vincent Trocheck’s game-winning wrist shot in double overtime. In Game 1, the Blueshirts needed only 23 seconds to score twice on two power-play opportunities.

In their six playoff games, the Rangers have 10 goals on 25 power-play chances (40%). Only the Edmonton Oilers (45%) and Colorado Avalanche (44.4%) have had more success with the man advantage.

The Rangers’ penalty kill has been equally as good. They are third in penalty kill percentage (92.6%) behind the Oilers (100%) and Boston Bruins (95.8%).

“The power play has been clicking,” Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. “The intensity and sharpness is there — the same thing with the PK. The guys are sacrificing, blocking shots, in the right spots, pressuring at the right times. They’re going to make adjustments on both sides, so we have to continue to adjust and adapt.”

Conversely, the Hurricanes have shot themselves in the foot on special teams, particularly against the Rangers. Carolina has yet to score a power-play goal through two games in the series. The Rangers’ penalty kill has been flawless (10-for-10).

A lot of that has to do with the performance of Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin. After allowing three goals during the first two periods of Game 2, the Russian netminder hunkered down and stopped 32 consecutive shots from the third period until the conclusion of the game.

Shesterkin’s 54 saves were the most by a Rangers goalie in a playoff game. His night included two key stops on Sebastian Aho in overtime.

During the regular season, the Hurricanes had the best penalty kill (86.4%) and the second-best power-play unit in the league (26.9%).

“We’ve got to definitely be sharper,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday night. “We’ve got to get inside. We’re all on the outside. That’s not how we do it. We’ve got to get back to doing it the way we know how to.”

After their first-round exit to the rival Devils a year ago in seven games, the Rangers added more experience to their roster.

Defenseman Erik Gustafsson has been a quality addition after coming over from the Maple Leafs. Gustafsson had 31 points during the regular season and has been a steady presence defensively with how he has moved the puck. They also brought in Jonathan Quick as an experienced goalie behind Shesterkin and he chipped in with 18 regular-season wins in 26 starts.

Hiring Laviolette last year after the Rangers lost to the Devils has benefited enormously. He won a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and has had a ton of postseason success after leading the Philadelphia Flyers (2010) and Nashville Predators (2017) to the Stanley Cup Final.

“I think two years ago losing in the third round and obviously what happened, you will learn a lot from it,” Rangers forward Alexis Lafrenière said. “We made good moves to get really good players at the deadline and I think we are a complete team.

“To forwards, to D [defensemen] are complete, so that helps a lot.”