NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Rangers vs Hurricanes Game 3 (Thursday, May 9)
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Rangers vs. Hurricanes Odds
| Rangers Odds | +150 |
| Hurricanes Odds | -180 |
| Over / Under | 5.5 -110 / -110 |
Here's everything you need to know about the Rangers vs. Hurricanes odds for Game 3 on Thursday, May 9 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
With a victory tonight, the Rangers will have matched their longest playoff winning streak for a single year, which they set at seven when they won the Stanley Cup back in 1994.
As impressive as they've been, though, Carolina is far from beat, so let's preview the upcoming contest before offering a Rangers vs. Hurricanes pick and prediction.
The shortest explanation for the Rangers' dominance is goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He's done everything the Rangers have asked of him thus far, posting a 6-0 record, 2.01 GAA and .929 save percentage through six playoff contests. The 28-year-old was especially important in Game 2 on Tuesday, stopping 54 of 57 shots en route to a 4-3 double-overtime victory.
Additionally, the Rangers have a xGA/60 of 3.10 in the playoffs, which suggests the defense has actually been rather poor, and any indications to the contrary are largely thanks to Shesterkin picking up the slack when those in front of him falter.
Among Rangers players, Shesterkin would be their frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy, but it's true he's also gotten great offensive support. Alexis Lafreniere came into his own during the regular season with career highs in goals (28) and points (57), and the 22-year-old has kept that going into the playoffs, supplying seven points in six outings, including two goals Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects of Mika Zibanejad (three goals, 11 points), Vincent Trocheck (five goals, 10 points), Artemi Panarin (three goals, seven points) and Chris Kreider (three goals, six points) have all done their part in the playoffs this year.
When a team is firing on all cylinders like this, finding a flaw comes down to nitpicking, but ultimately the reason the Rangers might lose has more to do with Carolina's strength rather than any issue with New York.
The Rangers might be going into tonight's action with a 2-0 series lead, but Carolina lost both contests by the thinnest of margins, and as much as Shesterkin deserves praise, he wasn't unbeatable.
Jake Guentzel has found success in the second round, providing two goals and three points across two contests while Sebastian Aho has supplied five assists in the same span.
Other members of the Hurricanes need to get going, though. Teuvo Teravainen came up big in the first round with two goals and four points over five outings, but he hasn't shown up on the scoresheet yet in this series. Seth Jarvis does have a goal in two second-round contests, which is fine, but that still pales in comparison to his seven points (three goals) in five games during the first round and 67 points (33 goals) across 81 regular-season appearances.
You can also add Andrei Svechnikov to the pile of players who excelled in the opening series (five points in five contests) but have slowed against the Rangers (one point in two games).
Then there's the curious case of Evgeny Kuznetsov. Although he's surpassed the 70-point milestone on four occasions, the 31-year-old struggled in 2023-24, finishing the regular season with just eight goals and 24 points across 63 contests. Every now and then, though, he steps up and has provided two multi-point showings in the playoffs this year. That still wasn't enough to stop him from being a healthy scratch for Game 2 after taking a bad penalty in Game 1, but he might return to the lineup tonight, so perhaps he'll make a statement.
If none of those forwards hits his stride tonight, then Carolina is in trouble. Frederik Andersen is capable of stealing games, but after allowing at least three goals in each of his last four starts, the Hurricanes can't count on getting his best work tonight.
Rangers vs. Hurricanes
Betting Pick & Prediction
With the series heading to Carolina, oddsmakers are billing the Hurricanes as heavy favorites. I suspect they're right.
Although the Rangers have been great, I think the Hurricanes are ultimately too good of a team to allow themselves to fall behind 3-0 in the series, especially in front of a home crowd.
However, taking Carolina on the moneyline doesn't come with a great potential payout, and given how close this series has been, I don't trust the Hurricanes to cover the puck-line spread of 1.5 goals in New York's favor.
The Over 5.5 goals consequently seems like the best balance of a solid potential return and the probability of being right. Although Andersen and Shesterkin are great goaltenders, these two offenses have combined for seven goals in each of the first two contests of this series, and each ranked in the top 10 for goals per game during the regular season.
That makes me comfortable in believing that the goals will continue to flow at a regular pace tonight.
Pick: Over 5.5 goals (-110 at bet365) | Play to -125
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