Rangers hardly worried by concerning Hurricanes trends from Game 1

If you were looking to nitpick the 4-3 victory over Carolina in Game 1 of the second round, there was ample area to do so.

The Canes held a 32-15 edge in scoring chances, with a 21-12 margin at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. In keeping with character, Carolina had 57.14 percent of the five-on-five shot attempts and kept the Rangers from playing much of a territorial game; the home team was often content to get the puck down the ice and change as opposed to entering the zone with control.

Going five-for-five on the penalty kill was good, but taking fewer than five penalties would be ideal.

The Rangers, however, were not in a nitpicking kind of mood at Monday's practice ahead of Game 2 at the Garden on Tuesday night.

"It's the way they're playing," Braden Schneider told The Post. "You know that's their style, you know that's what's coming. You know they're gonna get a lot of shots and it's trying to do your best to minimize those ones that come from the middle of the ice. If they're taking shots, we have a good goalie that can handle that, and it's making sure we're not giving up anything that scary in the middle of the ice that's a Grade-A look."

That was something at which the Rangers excelled in Game 1.

Carolina had 72 shot attempts, but just five high-danger chances.

here was one bad defensive breakdown at five-on-five, when Martin Necas split Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren to score. Otherwise, even if the Hurricanes had a possession edge, it counted for nothing.

And the Rangers, by the way, didn't mind their offensive game at all, either.

"From a five-on-five standpoint, I thought we did a really good job creating the chances that we needed to," coach Peter Laviolette said. "[And] keeping them from generating quality chances they might be looking for."

This will only get tougher from here.

The Hurricanes will adjust, particularly on special teams after being outclassed there in Game 1.

When the series shifts to Carolina, the Rangers will have matchup issues to deal with and Mika Zibanejad will likely be facing Jordan Staal, who stymied him two years ago at this stage. The Capitals, these are not.

But the Rangers are the team in a better position now — and not just in the obvious sense of being up 1-0 in the series. They are the team playing better hockey within its system, and that includes a first round in which they had a far easier time against inferior opposition than the Hurricanes.

For all the consternation about five-on-five analytics, the Rangers not only ended Game 1 with an edge in high-danger chances at even strength, they showed how little it all matters if their special teams continue operating at a high level.

"Every [first-round] series, if you win the special-teams battle, you had a pretty good chance of winning the series," Fox said. "That's how it goes. It's part of the game. We are not doubting our five-on-five ability, [we're] able to play that way, too. If you get opportunities with the man advantage or vice versa, have to kill an opportunity for them, having confidence in that is a big part of things as well."

It's not particularly likely that the Rangers will score twice in 23 seconds of power-play time again, or that Carolina will go scoreless over 8:06 at five-on-four.

But there is a long way between there and special teams being anywhere near even.

The Rangers, including the regular season, have taken three of four from Carolina this season.

They took three of four last season, and four out of seven in the playoffs two seasons ago, and hold the early advantage in this series.

If you get past the analytics and look at the actual results, this rivalry is, in fact, a little bit one-sided.

Until proven otherwise, there's no reason to treat this series any differently.

"Five-on-five last game, I thought we were really good, we pushed the pace, took things to them," Schneider said. "I think if we continue to do that, that's what we need."