Rangers head into big-time battle vs. Hurricanes as surprising underdog

By every stretch of the betting world that has taken over the sports landscape, the Rangers are grossly underestimated as they embark on their second-round series against the Hurricanes.

And for what?

Because there always has to be an underdog?

Because the analytics say so?

The absurdity and disrespect of the lopsided odds — -155 for the Hurricanes to the Rangers’ +130 on the series, according to BetMGM — should not be dignified with acknowledgment.

If there’s a genuine belief that the Rangers don’t have just as good a chance of winning this series as the Hurricanes do, then attention has not been properly paid to the Blueshirts this season.

Is it going to be an uptick in competition?

For both teams, yes.

Is it going to take the best version of each club to decide who prevails?

For both teams, probably, yes.

Is the disparity between these teams large enough to go with what the money-mongers in Vegas tell you to?

Save your cash.

It’s all inconsequential at the end of the day, since the Rangers have been betting on themselves for nearly seven months.

A 2023-24 season résumé that already features 175 consecutive days atop the Metropolitan Division, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Presidents’ Trophy and a first-round sweep have surely made it easier to do so.

“We just always try to keep a level head through it all,” rookie Will Cuylle told The Post after the Rangers’ final day of practice before the series opener Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

“Whether we won three straight or maybe we weren’t playing great, guys would know and would always make sure we’re working on specific things. Everything throughout the regular season was leading up to the playoffs and this has to be a certain way by the time you get to the playoffs.

“We never really got too caught up in winning streaks or stuff like that because it was more game-to-game, how we were playing, whether it was a win or loss.”

Team mindset could ultimately play a factor in this series considering that both clubs’ strengths match up fairly equally.

The Hurricanes were the only team in the NHL to post better special teams numbers than the Rangers this season, but it’s an area where the Rangers excelled just a bit more in Round 1 in comparison to the Hurricanes.

It’s true, the Rangers’ stars were their stars and their strengths were their strengths in the first round against the Capitals, but it’s going to take a lot more.

Carolina wasn’t able to capitalize on the break in game action as much as the Rangers were in terms of recovery.

Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour announced Brett Pesce (lower-body injury) will not travel to New York for Games 1 and 2, but president and general manager Don Waddell said they hope to have the 29-year-old defenseman available at some point in the series.

That means the Rangers will see their former teammate, Tony DeAngelo, who played in the final three games of the Islanders series.

But still no Jesper Fast, the beloved former Blueshirt who injured a muscle in his neck during the Canes’ regular-season finale and is expected to miss the remainder of the postseason.

It’s these kinds of points that can’t be reflected in betting odds.

The favorite doesn’t always win.

That’s why it’s always measured in probability.

“It gets harder and harder just by the playoff process,” head coach Peter Laviolette. “It gets harder and harder because the competition goes up. We’re coming off a pretty good year and we’re facing a team that had a couple points less than us. They’re a good hockey team and they’ve done a lot of things well. There’s a lot of reasons why it becomes harder and more challenging to own the game, own what you want to do inside the game. That’s the beauty of the playoffs.”