They'll no doubt be looking to overwhelm a good but flawed Rangers team by doing just that. The Canes have the speed, skill, depth, and tenacity to attack you in waves of relentless pressure and wear you down. New York really struggled to hang in at five-on-five against the Penguins, and dominance at even strength has long been Carolina's calling card. With respect to the Rangers, the Hurricanes also have one of the easiest paths to the conference finals. They got strong goaltending - the biggest question mark coming into the playoffs - and were untouchable on home ice en route to besting a Boston team with a wealth of experience and high-end talent. The Hurricanes saw the biggest move of any team following the first round, with their odds cut in half after taking care of the Bruins. The Lightning aren't an easy draw by any means, but they're coming out of a grueling series in which they potentially lost one of their best players in Brayden Point. Whatever the reason for their poor stars, the Panthers showed the skill level and determination necessary to erase those deficits against a veteran team with Stanley Cup pedigree. They dropped two of the first three games, trailed late in Game 4, and fell behind three goals before waking up in Game 5. In more ways than one, the Panthers were slow coming out of the gate against the Capitals. Should the Avs prevail, as expected, they'll be heavily favored against whichever team is still standing following the much-anticipated Battle of Alberta. Having taken care of business so easily, the Avalanche had the ability to get all of their players plenty of rest in advance of a date with a Blues team coming out of a hard-fought six-game series.
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