Bantering Points: 5/2/24
Here are today's news and links:
Rangers News:
Dave Blezow breaks down why even after a Presidents' Trophy-winning regular season followed by a one-sided sweep of Washington, the Blueshirts stand as betting underdogs in the second round against Carolina (NY Post)
Mollie Walker notes that for all the familiar faces the Rangers and Hurricanes will remember from their 2022 playoff encounter, there are plenty of new faces as well to keep things interesting (NY Post)
Justin Tasch examines the possibility of a series defeat against the New York being the final nail in the coffin for Rod Brind'Amour's time in Raleigh with a contract that is set to expire following the season (NY Post)
Colin Stephenson highlights how even though Peter Laviolette wasn't behind the Rangers' bench in 2022, he has his own history with the Hurricanes (Newsday)
Vincent Mercogliano lists three things to know as New York and Carolina get set to clash in the Metropolitan Division finals for the second time in three years (LoHud)
Brain Abate points to the Blueshirts' goaltending and special teams as elements of the team that will need to remain strong points in order for the Rangers to continue their march towards the Stanley Cup (The Hockey Writers)
Michael Ru$$o make$ the ca$e for why year$ of playoff di$appointment, including $eeing their 2022 $ea$on end at the hand$ of the Ranger$, might finally come to an end for Carolina thi$ year (The Athletic)
Around the NHL:
Quinn Hughes, (VAN) Roman Josi, (NSH) and Cale Makar (COL) have been named as finalists for the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman (ESPN)
The Dallas Stars rattled off their third consecutive victory against the Vegas Golden Knights, winning Game 5 by a 3-2 margin and taking a 3-2 series lead to push the defending champion Golden Knights to the brink of elimination (Sportsnet)
Both Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning have a mutual interest in remaining together even as Stamkos is currently lined up to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st (Sportsnet)
