I think that game was a pretty spot on example of why analytics favour the Canes, and why it might not matter.
Sure, if you play that game 100 times, there’s a good chance the Canes win more games than the Rangers given the possession and o-zone numbers.
But we’re not playing them 100 times, it’s best of 7. And as long as Igor outplays Andersen, the Rangers special teams are clearly superior and the Rangers big stars take their chances it’s pretty clear that the Canes statistical dominance 5v5 and strong possession numbers might not be enough to win.
It got a bit hairy at the end. But my feeling for 58 minutes of hockey was that I could clearly see why they’re favoured by analytics models, and I could clearly see how the Rangers overcome it.