Canes gear up for second round of playoffs

The Carolina Hurricanes are now eight wins away from appearing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

• The Canes open their second-round playoff series against the New York Rangers Wednesday at PNC Arena. They'll also be at home Friday, before going to New York for two games in the best-of-7 series.

Why it matters: The Triangle is buzzing about hockey again.

• The last time Carolina played in the Stanley Cup Finals was 2006. They won the championship that year.
• They've made the playoffs the past three years, but only advanced past the second round once in that time.

State of play: Carolina won three of its four games against New York in the regular season.

Storylines to watch: The Canes failed to win a road game in their opening series against Boston, but fortunately they have home ice advantage in the second round, too.

• Carolina went 25-12-4 away from PNC Arena this year. But the Rangers are 27-10-4 at Madison Square Garden.
• The Hurricanes are 29-8-4 at home while the Rangers are 25-14-2 on the road.

The bottom line: This could be another series that goes the distance.

What's next: Game one is on ESPN Wednesday night at 7. Tickets were reselling for anywhere from $85 to more than $1,000 on Ticketmaster this week.