The Carolina Hurricanes will look to even the best of seven series at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. This is the second round of the National Hockey League postseason, with the Rangers leading the series 1-0 after the Sunday afternoon win.
The Carolina Hurricanes finished 2nd out of the Metro Division. Carolina went 52-23-7 in the regular season. The Hurricanes won seven out of their final ten games of the regular season. Carolina took down the Islanders in five games to start the postseason.
The New York Rangers, on the other hand, are the top team in all of the NHL. The Rangers won the Presidents Cup with a 55-23-4 record. New York also won 7 out of their final 10. The Rangers swept the four games in the first round over the Washington Capitals.
The Carolina Hurricanes are favorites, despite being on the road. The Hurricanes are -120.
Hurricanes Seeking Split
There would be nothing better for Carolina than to win in New York and head home tied in the series. The Hurricanes let game 1 get away, allowing three goals in the first period. The offense tried to come back, with goals from Jaccob Slavin, Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis, but it was too little too late.
The Hurricanes allowed four goals for the first time in the postseason. It was also the first time since a loss to Columbus back on April 16th. During the regular season, Carolina only allowed 2.57 goals per game. That ranked fourth in all of the National Hockey League. The offense scored 3.38.
Sebastian Aho, Jake Guentzel and Seth Jarvis led the team in scoring during the regular season. Asho scored 36 goals and dished out 53 assists, while Guentzel went with 30 goals and 44 assists on the season.
Rangers Running Wild
Mika Zibanejad scored the first two goals for the Rangers, while Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin added later goals. The Rangers threesome have been great so far in the postseason, leading the team with a combined 10 goals between the three.
As a team, the Rangers scored 3.39 goals per game, which ranked 7th in all of the league. The defense was 7th as well, allowing 2.76 goals per game. New York was third best on the power play, as they scored on 26.4% of their chances this season.
The Rangers used 22 saves from goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He is now 5-0 in the postseason. In the regular season, the goaltender recorded a 36-17-2 record, and allowed just 2.58 goals per game. Shesterkin will get the start in Game 2.
Rangers Take 2-0 Lead
We like the New York Rangers here. The Rangers have been overlooked all season, despite being the best team in the National Hockey League. The Rangers are going to jump out to a lead early, and come away with a win in this game.
When we go to bet on this game, we are taking the home underdog. Take the Rangers +110 over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your National Hockey League bets!
