The Carolina Hurricanes did what they needed to do to stay alive in Game 4.
Facing the prospect of a sweep, the Canes eked out a 3-0 win on the road against the Florida Panthers to extend the Eastern Conference Finals to a fifth game. Carolina ended a 15-game losing streak in the third round in the process.
The Hurricanes still have a tall hill to climb to get back into this series, but a win on Wednesday night would heap some pressure back on the Panthers, who nearly blew a 3-0 series lead to the Edmonton Oilers in last year’s Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers are a slight -115 favorite for Wednesday’s Game 5.
Hurricanes vs. Panthers Game 5 betting preview
Carolina’s defensive structure was superb in Game 4.
The Canes only conceded 15 shots, two high-danger scoring chances, and 0.6 expected goals to the Panthers at 5-on-5 on Monday night. It was as clean a game as you could play defensively, and goaltender Frederik Andersen was on song when he needed to step up.
The problem is that Carolina still only beat Sergei Bobrovsky once (the second and third goals came with an empty net) in the contest.
The Hurricanes have been outscored, 12-2, at 5-on-5 in this best-of-7 series so far despite the fact that they’ve generated more shots on goal, expected goals, and high-danger scoring chances than the Panthers.
With their offense sputtering, the Hurricanes need to play a flawless game because any mistake could be too much to overcome.
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Hurricanes vs. Panthers Game 5 pick
The Hurricanes have the ability to shut games down, but they’ll need to find a way to break through offensively if they want to extend this series to Game 6 and beyond.
The problem is that it will require Carolina to put some more risk in its game, and that could leave the Canes vulnerable. Taking more chances means that they will make mistakes, and Carolina just hasn’t shown it can score its way back into a contest with the Panthers.
Carolina needed to play an almost perfect game to get a win in this series. That’s asking too much of a team to do twice.
The Play: Florida -115 (BetMGM)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
