Is it a lamentable product of a broken playoff system when we see the first- and third-place teams in the regular season, two legitimate Cup contenders, face off in Round 2?

Maybe, but the silver lining is that we get to watch a heavy-weight clash ahead of schedule, and I'm not complaining about that.

The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers have met before, in the second round, back in 2022. In that series, the Canes eked out a 2-0 series lead and later pushed the Rangers to the brink of elimination before getting outscored 11 to 4 in games six and seven and heading home early.

New York went on to lose in the Conference Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost in the Cup Final. A season later, the Hurricanes lost in the Conference Finals to the Florida Panthers, who lost in the Cup Fi