New York Rangers Vs. Carolina Hurricanes (5/18/22) Betting Odds, Prediction, Line Combination, Starting Goalies
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The New York Rangers rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games to move onto the next round; this is the Rangers first time advancing to the second round of the playoffs since 2017. New York is +600 to win the Eastern Conference and +1300 to capture the 2021-22 Stanley Cup; New York last hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1993-94. Their last time playing in the Stanley Cup Finals was 2013-14; they lost to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Carolina Hurricanes won a hard fought first round series over the Boston Bruins in seven games; they’ve won seven straight game seven contests dating back to the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. The Hurricanes scored 24 goals in the series, four goals per game while allowing 3.3 goals per game to the Bruins in round one. Carolina is +250 to win the Eastern Conference and +600 to hoist the 2021-22 Stanley Cup; they beat the Edmonton Oilers in the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Final to win their only title in franchise history
New York Rangers Vs. Carolina Hurricanes Betting Odds
New York is +160 to win the second round series vs. Carolina. The Rangers are 15-36 in their last 51 playoff games as an underdog. New York is 9-4 in their last 13 road games. Over is 3-0-2 in the Rangers last five Conference Semifinals games. Under is 4-1-1 in New York’s last six playoff games as an underdog. The road team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings between the Rangers and Hurricanes. Carolina is -190 to beat the Rangers in the second round and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Hurricanes are 5-0 in their last five Conference Semifinals games. Carolina is 25-8 in their last 33 playoff games as a favorite. Over is 5-1 in the Hurricanes last six games as a favorite. Over is 8-1-1 in Carolina’s last 10 overall.
New York Rangers Analysis
In Game Seven of round one, Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal at 4:46 into overtime, eliminating the Penguins and moving the Rangers to a second-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Through New York’s first seven postseason games this season, he has seven points (three goals and four assists). Mika Zibanejad finished the season as the Rangers second leading scorer with 81 points (29 goals and 52 assists) and led New York in plus/minus at +30. New York’s number 93 had a goal and two assists in the Game Seven victory over the Penguins; his goal tied the score up at three in the third period. Zibanejad finished the first round as the Rangers leading scorer with 11 points (three goals and eight assists). Chris Kreider scored 52 goals this year, third in the NHL. New York’s number 20 led the NHL in power play goals with 26. In the series against Pittsburgh, he scored five goals, while adding two assists (seven points overall). Kreider is tied with Mark Messier for the second most playoff goals in Rangers’ history with 29 per NHL.com. Andrew Copp who was acquired by New York in March had two assists in the decisive seventh game against the Penguins. In the first round series he had seven points (four goals and three assists). He was a +4 vs. Pittsburgh while averaging 21:45 of ice time per game.
Adam Fox continues to be a dominant force for the Rangers on the blueline. In the seven-game series vs. the Penguins, he was New York’s second leading scorer with 10 points (three goals and seven assists). Per NHL.com, Fox became the fourth defenseman in NHL history with at least one point in all seven games of a series. He averaged an incredible 28:25 of ice time per game in the opening round of the playoffs.
Igor Shesterkin was 36-13-4 with a .935 save percentage (first in the league) and a 2.07 GAA (first in the NHL) in the 2021-22 regular season. Shesterkin was pulled in the third and fourth games of the series and finished the first round against the Penguins with a 3.66 GAA and .910 save percentage. But in the seventh game of the series, the Hart Trophy candidate stepped up and made 39 saves in the overtime victory.
Carolina Hurricanes Analysis
Number one goalie, Frederik Andersen who won 35 games for Carolina in the regular season has yet to play in the playoffs due to injury; his return is unknown. Antti Raanta started all six games in round one, winning three of those contests; rookie Pyotr Kochetkov won one game in the series. Raanta had a save percentage of .927 (153 saves on 165 shot attempts) with a 2.37 GAA against Boston; in Game Seven he made 27 saves in the victory.
Defensemen Jacob Slavin and Anthony DeAngelo are tied for the team lead in points with eight. Slavin scored two goals and handed out six assists in the first-round victory; in Game Seven he had two assists against the Bruins. Additionally, he was a +10 in the series averaging 23:02 of ice time per game. DeAngelo had a goal and seven assists in the seven gams series vs. Boston. He was a +6 and averaged 20:37 of ice time per contest in round one.
Center Vincent Trocheck had 51 points during the regular season and was +21. In the seven-game series vs. the Bruins he had seven points (three goals and four assists). Trocheck had three points on the power play and averaged 18:13 of ice time to open the postseason. Teuvo Teravainen, a Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014-15, had 65 points (22 goals and 42 assists) during the 2021-22 regular season. In the opening round of this year’s playoffs, Carolina’s number XXX had seven points (two goals and five assists). Sebastian Aho led the team in scoring with 81 points (37 goals and 44 assists). He was a +18, leading the club in power play goals with 13 and game winning goals with nine. Aho had five points (two goals and three assists) in seven games vs. Boston in the opening round of the playoffs. Max Domi had two goals and an assist in the decisive seventh game against the Bruins.
New York Rangers Vs. Carolina Hurricanes Picks & Prediction
The Rangers scored three goals per contest during the regular season, 17th in the NHL. Defensively New York allowed 2.5 goals per game, second overall. In games three and four against the Penguins, the Rangers allowed 14 goals; in the final three games of the series, they allowed nine goals in total. New York is 35-16 in their last 51 meetings with Carolina. The Rangers are 5-1 in their last six Wednesday games. During the regular season, Carolina scored 3.4 goals per game, ranking them ninth in the NHL. On the defensive side, the Hurricanes allowed 2.4 goals per game which was first in the league. Carolina outscored Boston 18-6 in the four games in Carolina and were outscored 14-6 in the three road games in round one. The Hurricanes are 42-16 in their last 58 home games. Carolina is 3-8 in their last 11 Wednesday games.
Carolina has one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the NHL; through seven playoffs games, the Hurricanes have 10 players who’ve scored at least four points. Igor Shesterkin has started to re-find his MVP form after playing poorly midway through the series against Pittsburgh. Based on New York’s strong goaltender play, I like the Rangers to go on the road and beat the Hurricanes, 3-1 with the teams combining for under 5.5 goals.
New York Rangers Vs. Carolina Hurricanes Starting Goalies & Line Combination
