The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes will collide for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals tonight from PNC Arena.
Below, you can look at the loan Eastern Conference game on tonight’s NHL slate and at some of our best bets on the FanDuel Sportsbook.
New York Rangers (+142) vs Carolina Hurricanes (-172) Total: 5.5 (O-105/U-115)The New York Rangers played a picture-perfect road game through forty minutes of action in Game 1, but that didn’t last in the third frame, where they ultimately let the Hurricanes knot things up before losing in overtime. The Rangers excelled at keeping the Canes away from the slot and were extremally effective at forcing all of the Carolina shot attempts from the outside, which made life for Igor Shesterkin to manage.
Things clearly changed in the third period when Sebastian Aho tied the game and Ian Cole won it in overtime, but the Rangers showed that there’s an effective game plan they can use to limit this Hurricanes team, which is interesting in that’s exactly the type of style that Carolina employs. Only 54 total shots were recorded in the first matchup in this series and if that’s a trend that continues, it’s one that likely will benefit the Rangers because of them having the edge in goal. Having a full 60-minute, complete effort is difficult, but the Rangers have shown to be a resilient team by already coming back from down 3-1 to Pittsburgh. Plus, there’s a lot for them to build off from their game one performance, as well as plenty of value on that current price at +142, which means you should look for New York to even up the series before heading to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4.
What all this adds up to is the makings of a low-scoring series. These two teams aren’t going to be trading chances up and down the ice, it’s just not really in either DNA, which is likely going to make for a lot of defensive hockey and more of a chess match between these two Metropolitan teams. It’s not like goals weren’t scored when these teams met four times during the regular season, but you can tell that both squads have different game plans this time around, as neither wants to take a lot of risks, which leads us to the conclusion that 5.5 is simply too high of a number in this spot.
Best Bets: Rangers moneyline (+142), Under 5.5 (-115)
