The New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes meet Tuesday in Game 3 Eastern Conference NHL Playoffs Second Round action at PNC Arena. Here’s a Carolina Hurricanes vs NY Rangers Prediction.
Game Two Recap: Rangers Pull It Out In OT
The New York Rangers used a 4-3 OT victory in game two to jump out to a 2-0 series lead as we now head to Carolina for game three. Alexis Lafreniere opened the scoring for the Rangers just after the midway point of the opening period, but Jake Guentzel would tie the game at one with just under five minutes to go in the second frame. Dmitri Orolv would sneak Carolina in front 2-1 in the dying seconds of the 1st, but Lafreniere would respond with his second tally of the game 7:32 into the 2nd. Once again though, Guentzel would answer Laffy’s goal with just under two minutes to go in the middle frame. Chris Kreider would tie the game at three on the power play 6:07 into the third, and we would play another two periods of scoreless hockey before Vincent Trocheck scored at the 7:24 mark of double OT to give the Rangers the win. Igor Shesterkin got the win between the pipes for the Rangers after stopping 54 of 57 shots faced in the victory while Frederik Andersen ended up with the loss after allowing 4 goals on 39 shots faced in the loss.
New York Rangers Team Preview
Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring with 120 points including team-highs of 49 goals and 71 assists while Chris Kreider has 75 points with 39 goals of his own. Vincent Trocheck has 77 points as well with 52 assists while Mika Zibanejad has 72 points with 46 assists this season. Igor Shesterkin has gone 36-17-2 with a 2.58 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Jonathan Quick is 18-6-2 with a 2.62 GAA and a .911 save percentage between the pipes for the Rangers this season.
Why the New York Rangers will win
- The underdogs have won each of the last 10 games between the Rangers and Hurricanes.
- The Hurricanes have lost three of their last four games as favorites.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the last 10 games between the Rangers and Hurricanes.
- The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Rangers have won the third period in each of their last seven games as underdogs following an overtime win.
Carolina Hurricanes Team Preview
Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 89 points including 36 goals and 53 assists while Seth Jarvis has 67 points split between 33 goals and 34 assists. Martin Necas has 53 points and Teuvo Teravainen has 53 points, with Necas logging 24 goals while Teravainen has 25 goals. In goal, Frederik Andersen has gone 13-2 with a 1.84 GAA and a .932 save percentage while Antti Raanta is 12-7-2 with a 2.99 GAA and an .872 save percentage and Pyotr Kochetkov is 23-13-4 with a 2.33 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
Why the Carolina Hurricanes will win
- The Hurricanes have won each of their last six home games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Rangers have lost each of their last three games at PNC Arena after coming off overtime.
- The home team has covered the puck line in each of the Hurricanes’ last eight games.
- The Hurricanes have won the third period in each of their last five night games at PNC Arena.
Carolina Hurricanes vs NY Rangers Prediction
I’m on the Rangers here. I know this is a desperate spot for a superb Carolina team at home, where they’ve played their best hockey all year long. However, the Rangers are 6-0 in the playoffs so far, proving that sweeps happen even to the best teams out there. The Rangers have found a way in each of their first two wins in this series, and the Rangers were one of the NHL’s best road teams as well this season. Getting them at this price is worth the play based on value alone. Give me the Rangers for the 3-0 series lead.