A second loss in the Eastern Conference Final in three years still stings for the New York Rangers, months after getting eliminated by eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida.
“It hurts,” center Vincent Trocheck said, “so, the itch to get back is heightened a little bit more.”
The Carolina Hurricanes know the feeling, having suffered the same fate in 2023 and have it even worse after falling to the Rangers last spring. But now the Metropolitan Division’s top two teams get another chance to slug it out for the chance to get through the East with plenty of unknowns behind them in the standings.
“The Rangers played just a little bit better,” said Hurricanes forward Martin Necas, who re-signed for two more years. “I guess we’ve got to figure out a way to change it up a little bit and be better because we’ve done it for five years and we haven’t won. But I’m sure that this team can still do it.”
Carolina lost a handful of important players from their run of six consecutive playoff appearances under coach Rod Brind’Amour but still has title aspirations.
Rangers captain Jacob Trouba expects this to be the last crack at doing so for his team’s core, especially given questions moving forward about goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who is unsigned beyond this season. New Jersey is a chic pick to finish first after acquiring goaltender Jacob Markstrom from Calgary, but nothing is guaranteed.
“The Rangers are coming off a really good year,” Devils center Jack Hughes said. “Carolina is Carolina. I know Washington had a really good offseason. Philadelphia made moves. And then Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh. Definitely a lot more excitement going into this year, and I think probably a hungry group wanting to get back to where we were.”
On the rise
The Devils missed the playoffs after what captain Nico Hischier said was a season full of turbulence, as well as injuries. The biggest difference should be in net with Markstrom after their 3.43 goals-against average and .896 save percentage were sixth-worst in the league.
“Goaltending is definitely an important, big thing,” Hischier said. “You can see throughout other teams what great goaltending can bring. For us, having Markstrom we’re obviously excited for that.”
The Flyers fell just short of the postseason ahead of their rebuilding schedule and got top prospect Matvei Michkov to come over to North America from Russia ahead of what they expected. Being in the race should only help Philadelphia take another step.
“We did a lot of good things last year, but it’s a new year now and we’ve got to get back to what we did well but also we have to get better,” goalie Samuel Ersson said. “That was a great experience to kind of get to see that and knowing that, even if you have a good start or whatever, you know that the level is going to get even better, so you’ve got to keep on building throughout the year, as well, and not get satisfied.”
On the decline
Back-to-back playoff misses did not change the Penguins’ organizational goal to double down on their aging core. Sidney Crobsy got a team-friendly, two-year extension, and Pittsburgh is banking on its captain, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson to stave off father time.
Washington made significantly more changes, bringing in a handful of players younger than 30 to help return to the playoffs and put Alex Ovechkin on track to break Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record.
The Islanders have made it in consecutive seasons and five times in the past six years and yet still keep getting overlooked.
“We’re on the right track, and I think we have something good coming,” forward Pierre Engvall said. “I think if keep doing what we did last year, I think we might be more dangerous than people or teams expect.”
On the hot seat
Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan is considered one of the best coaches in hockey and he would almost certainly get hired by someone if he is fired. But the fact remains that new ownership and a different general manager in Kyle Dubas now run the show, and the 2016 and ’17 Cup runs are fading further into the rearview mirror.
Sullivan’s seat is definitely warming, unless he and the Penguins get off to a strong start and finish in the top eight in the East for the first time since 2022.
Predicted order of finish
Carolina, New Jersey, N.Y. Rangers, N.Y. Islanders, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus.
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AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson and freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.
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