A rematch two years in the making is set. On Tuesday ay night, the Hurricanes defeated the Islanders 6-3 to win their first round series in five games.

The Canes broke open a tie game by scoring consecutive goals in an eight-second span. Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen made it 5-3 less than five minutes into the third period. That offset the Islanders rallying in the second period from two down to tie the score.

Seth Jarvis added an empty netter late to put the finishing touches on the Hurricanes’ Game 5 victory. He was the Canes’ best player in the first round – leading them in scoring with seven points (3-4-7). He had a goal and two assists in the series clincher.

By eliminating the Islanders for the second straight year, the Hurricanes set up a second round showdown with the Rangers. They faced each other in the same round during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Rangers came out victorious by coming back to beat the Hurricanes in seven games. That included a 5-2 win in Game 6 and a 6-2 win in Game 7. It was the only time in the series the road team prevailed.

That was then. This is now. While many of the featured actors remain part of the two rosters, there’ll be some different players added to the second round rematch.

Jake Guentzel is the biggest name that the Canes added. The acquisition helped bolster their offense. It shouldn’t be as easy to shut them down.

On the flip side, Vincent Trocheck has become a big weapon for the Rangers. The two-way pivot was dominant in a first round sweep of the Capitals by posting six points (3-3-6) and a 71.2 percent faceoff win percentage. In a subplot, he’ll face his former team. He was on the wrong side two years ago.

There’s also the coaching matchup. It pits the student versus the teacher. Way back when, Peter Laviolette coached the Hurricanes to its only Stanley Cup. Rod Brind’Amour was his captain. Now, he’s behind the Carolina bench. It’s probably the biggest storyline. Who will prevail?

Amongst the key players who were part of Rangers/Hurricanes Part 1:

Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Jacob Trouba, K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Barclay Goodrow, Braden Schneider, Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck

Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Martin Necas, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Tony DeAngelo, Pyotr Kochetkov, Antti Raanta

Carolina was without Frederik Andersen. He had a strong first round against the Islanders – posting a 2.25 goals-against-average (GAA) and .912 save percentage. Andersen is the biggest change. The Canes have their starting goalie for the rematch.

As noted earlier, Trocheck is on the Rangers this time. He had three goals for the Hurricanes in the second round two years ago. He also hit some goalposts. Unlike that matchup, the Canes will be without Jesper Fast. The former Ranger is out for the rest of the season with an upper-body injury.

If he gets back in for the series, keep an eye on Chytil. He was an x-factor in the Rangers’ second round triumph by posting four goals in 2022. He centered the third line. Lafreniere had three assists, and Kakko had an assist. All three were plus players who drove offense.

Zibanejad paced the Blueshirts with four goals and four assists for eight points. Aho led the Canes with two goals and four assists for six points. Fox also had eight points (2-6-8).

Shesterkin made the difference, finishing with a 1.72 GAA and .949 save percentage. Raanta made six starts and was very good until the last two games. He went 3-3 with a 2.16 GAA and .917 save percentage.

The Canes had trouble scoring against Shesterkin. That was their biggest bugaboo over the final two games. A couple of years later, they’re hoping the emergence of Jarvis and the addition of Guentzel can make the difference.

Game 1 is set for Sunday, May 5. Faceoff is at 4 EST at Madison Square Garden.