Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes NHL Eastern Conference Final Series Preview
Here is my preview for the NHL Easter Conference Final between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes:
Montreal Canadiens (+220) at Carolina Hurricanes (-275)
Game 1- Thursday, May 21 at Carolina
Welcome back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes have been off since May 9, following their sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers and are a perfect 8-0 in the playoffs. The 12-day layoff is the longest in Stanley Cup Playoff history. The Canadiens have gone the distance in winning both their series and four of the 14 games, including their Game Seven win over Buffalo on Monday, which were settled in overtime. Carolina is making their third trip to the Conference Finals in the past four years and is 1-12 in their last three Conference Finals combined. Add to that, since 2000, teams coming off a Game Seven victory are 7-1 in the following series when facing a team coming off a sweep.
For what it’s worth, the Canadiens won all three meetings this season against the Canes, scoring at least three goals in each game and twice scoring five goals or more. The Hurricanes have yet to surrender more than two goals in any of their eight playoff games this year. Montreal showed against Tampa they were comfortable in playing low-scoring games, as six of the seven games (all decided by one goal) had a combined five goals or less, including their 2-1 victory in game seven.
Montreal’s top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky combined for eight goals and 15 points versus Carolina in the regular season. After a slow start, Caufield finished the Buffalo series with a goal in three of the last four games. Suzuki had points in four of the six games (six points total). Slafkovsky had points in four of the first five games of the Buffalo series but was kept off the scoresheet in the final two games.
Carolina has been led in the playoffs by the line of Logan Stankoven (seven goals, one assist), Taylor Hall (three goals, nine assists), and Jackson Blake (four goals and seven assists). The trio has combined for 14 of Carolina’s 24 goals in the playoffs. They have taken the pressure off Sebastian Aho (one assist) and Andrei Svechnikov (one goal, one assist), who were held in check against the Flyers in Round Two. Both Aho and Svechnikov have enjoyed success against the Canadiens in their career. The two combined for four goals and seven points in the three games versus Montreal this season. Aho has 13 goals and 30 points in 25 career games against Montreal, while Svechnikov has 13 goals and 21 points in 20 career games against the Habs.
Canes goalie Freddie Andersen will likely face a much stiffer test from the Canadiens than what he got from the Flyers. His 1.12 goals against average and .950 save percentage are tops in both categories. His two playoff shutouts are tied for the lead with Flyers goalie Dan Vladar.
NHL Series Predictions and Best Bets:
Carolina Hurricanes in six games (+360) – 1 unit
Carolina Hurricanes in seven games (+370) – 1 unit
Montreal Canadiens in six games (+700) – 1 unit
Montreal Canadiens in seven games (+700) – 1 unit
Juraj Slafkovsky most shots on goals (+2500) – ¼ unit
Logan Stankoven most shots on goal (+650) – ¼ unit
Andrei Svechnikov to lead in goals (+1000) – ¼ unit
Cole Caufield to lead the series in points (+800) – ¼ unit
Logan Stankoven to lead the series in points (+2200) – ¼ unit
Nick Suzuki to lead the series in goals (+1200) – ¼ unit
Lane Hutson to score 2+ goals (+700) – ¼ unit
