The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs is finally here, as the Carolina Hurricanes play the New York Rangers this afternoon at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch the game for free by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. If both of those options are unavailable, then Sling is offering a discounted subscription that makes the service affordable.

NHL fans can also get some playoff gear to support their teams, like famous actor Will Ferrell.

(D1) New York Rangers vs (D2) Carolina Hurricanes

Both of these teams secured their spot in the second round of this year’s playoffs relatively quickly. The New York Rangers swept the Washington Capitals, who they outscored 15-7 in the series. Only one game in the series was decided by less than two goals, so the Rangers were relatively dominant in their victories. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes secured a 4-1 series win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday. The Hurricanes scored 20 goals during their series, including six in game 5. So, both the Rangers and Hurricanes have shown the capabilities to score numerous goals and play stellar defense.

These two teams have played against each other three times this season, and the Rangers won two of those matchups. However, both of the Rangers wins were by one goal. So, this should be a highly competitive series with plenty of defense from both teams.

The Rangers get to host the first two games of this series because they are the higher seeded team, as they finished the regular season with three more wins than the Hurricanes. The home crowd advantage will be instrumental for the Rangers to start this series, while the Hurricanes will try to steal a game before heading back to Carolina.

Fans can watch all the action from this series opener for free by utilizing the free trials offered by Fubo TV and DirecTV Stream. Alternatively, Sling is offering a discounted subscription for new users.