Until the Hurricanes give me a reason not to, I'm going to ride them in Raleigh as they won all four in Round 1 there against the Bruins yet lost all three in Boston by multiple goals. Having an extra day of rest won't hurt the Canes, either. Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin didn't look like himself in much of Round 1 and was 0-2 with a 3.63 GAA this season against Carolina.

The Rangers are coming off a physical seven-game series win against Pittsburgh in which they were outshot by 40 and outscored by one goal. New York is dead last in faceoff winning percentage (43.1) in the playoffs after ranking 24th during the regular season. Meanwhile, Carolina is sixth in the category (51.1) this postseason after ranking ninth in 2021-22. The Hurricanes outshot the Rangers 140-105 while winning three of their four meetings this season. I like Carolina in Game 1 (and the series).