Carolina Tries to Stave Off Elimination in New York
But the Hurricanes vs Rangers Odds Lean on the Latter to Finish the Series
The Carolina Hurricanes will try to ward off elimination for the second straight game when they meet the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden. The Hurricanes vs Rangers odds expect a tightly contested game.
Carolina scored three first-period goals and held on for a 4-3 win over the Rangers in Game 4. Brady Skjei broke a 3-all tie with his first goal of the playoffs, and Carolina’s first power-play goal of the series, at 16:49 of the third period that was the game-winner.
Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves, and Will Cuylle, Barclay Goodrow, and Alexis Lafreniere each scored for the New York Rangers. The Rangers dropped their first game of the playoffs but still hold a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-7 series.
Here’s a look at the Hurricanes vs Rangers odds and preview for Game 5.
Records: Carolina Hurricanes (57-24-10), New York Rangers (62-24-4)
Day/Time:
Location: Madison Square Garden
Streaming: ESPN
Home vs Road
The NHL odds for Game 5 are even with sportsbooks giving each side about the same probability of winning. But those odds fly in the face of the trends for each team.
Carolina has been one of the best regular-season road teams during the regular season but is just 1-3 away from Raleigh in the playoffs, including one-goal losses in Games 1 and 2.
The Hurricanes have been dreadful on the road under coach Rod Brind’Amour, with a 9-21 record in non-bubble road games since he took over in 2018-19. They are just 4-13 over the past three postseasons and are 0-5 at MSG in that span.
But the Hurricanes will need to win twice at MSG in order to keep advancing, starting in Game 5, which is one of the two games on the NHL schedule today.
Plus, New York was one of the best teams on home ice during the regular season. The Rangers had the second-most regular-season home wins in the league (30) and have not lost in four games on home ice this postseason.
Powerful Play
NHL Stanley Cup winners rarely complete the quest without a solid power play, and the New York man advantage had been a big reason why it had built a 3-0 series lead.
But Carolina’s man advantage finally showed up when it needed it most. Mired in an 0-for-16 slump, and allowing a short-handed goal in Game 3, the Hurricanes power play finally struck on Skjei’s blast from the point late in the third period.
Carolina can stop hearing about its moribund power play and can start saying it’s 1 for its past 1 with the man advantage. The Hurricanes had the second-best power play in hockey during the regular season, yet the Rangers power play has four goals to Carolina’s one in the series.
New York’s power play was among the NHL scoring leaders with the man advantage in the postseason, but the Rangers power play has quietly struggled the past two games. Despite splitting the games in Raleigh, New York was 0-for-5 with the man advantage in the games played at PNC Arena and is now 4-for-14 in the series.
Carolina took just one minor penalty in Game 4, and it’ll need to keep that trend going to keep the series going. But the Canes PP will also need to stay hot if they’re going to send the series back to Raleigh for Game 6.
More Goaltending Woes
Carolina may have extended the series, but it did so despite its struggling goaltending. Brind’Amour went back to Frederik Andersen for Game 4, after starting Pyotr Kochetkov in Game 3. But Andersen was borderline awful.
He failed to catch Cuylle’s breakaway attempt and couldn’t swallow forward Jimmy Vesey’s chance right before Goodrow’s second-period goal then made a huge gaffe when Lafreniere banked the puck in off him for the game-tying goal in the third-period.
Andersen’s -1.92 goals-saved above average and .874 save percentage in the second round are second-worst among goalies with more than one appearance, behind only Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers. His struggles in goal could lead to a high-scoring total on the Hurricanes vs Rangers odds, which is set at 5.5.
As dominant as he’s been in the series, Shesterkin was subpar in Game 4. He finished with a -1.01 GSAA and allowed four goals in a playoff game for the first time in 30 starts. He had not allowed that many goals in the playoffs since he surrendered six in Game 4 of New York’s first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2022.
Still, Shesterkin is 4-0 at home with a .922 save percentage in the playoffs and has stopped 76 of 82 shots at MSG in the series.
Game 5 Prediction
The Hurricanes may have found life, but it will probably be short-lived.
Look for the Rangers to close out the Canes and advance with a multi-goal win
New York 4, Carolina 2
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