Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers square off in game 1 of qualifying round
New York Rangers (37-28-5, seventh in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (38-25-5, fourth in the Metropolitan Division during the regular season)
Toronto; Saturday, 12 p.m. EDT
EASTERN CONFERENCE QUALIFYING ROUND: Carolina and New York begin series
BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes square off against the New York Rangers in game one of the Eastern Conference qualifying round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The teams meet Saturday for the fifth time this season.
The Hurricanes are 20-17-2 in Eastern Conference games. Carolina ranks seventh in the NHL averaging 5.6 assists per game, led by Teuvo Teravainen with 0.7.
The Rangers are 14-8-0 against opponents in the Metropolitan Division. New York is second in the Eastern Conference recording 9.1 points per game, averaging 3.3 goals and 5.7 assists.
TOP PERFORMERS: Teravainen leads the Hurricanes with 48 assists and has 63 points this season. Justin Williams has six goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.
Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with a plus-36 in 69 games this season. Mika Zibanejad has 14 goals and two assists over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 5-4-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.6 assists, 4.8 penalties and 11 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .900 save percentage.
Rangers: 5-4-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 6.3 assists, 3.9 penalties and 9.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game with a .899 save percentage.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: Dougie Hamilton: day to day (undisclosed).
Rangers: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by , and data from ,.
