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The Carolina Hurricanes take on the New York Islanders in Game 4 of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference 1st-round series Saturday. Carolina holds a commanding 3-0 series lead. Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Hurricanes vs. Islanders odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
With a win Saturday afternoon, Carolina would become the 1st team this NHL postseason to advance to the 2nd round. Only 4 teams in NHL history have come back from down 3-0 in a playoff series, and it has not happened in 10 years (the LA Kings did it against the San Jose Sharks in the 1st round in 2014). The last time the Islanders accomplished the feat was against the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 1975 in the quarterfinals.
Carolina earned the 3-2 victory in Game 3 at UBS Arena as 39-year-old D Brent Burns, who was on that 2014 Sharks team that collapsed, scored the game’s opening goal. C Sebastian Aho, the team leader in goals during the regular season (36), recorded his 2nd goal of the series in the 3rd period.
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Hurricanes at Islanders odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:36 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Hurricanes -182 (bet $182 to win $100) | Islanders +150 (bet $150 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Hurricanes -1.5 (+150) | Islanders +1.5 (-182)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: +100 | U: -122)
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Hurricanes at Islanders projected goalies
Frederik Anderson (13-2-0, 1.84 GAA, .932 SV%, 3 SO in regular season) vs. Semyon Varlamov (14-8-4, 2.60 GAA, .918 SV%, 3 SO in regular season)
Anderson has started and won all 3 games this series. The Isles jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 2 on just 12 shots overall, but Carolina surged ahead in the 2nd and 3rd periods with 5 unanswered goals. The 34-year-old missed 50 games due to a blood-clotting issue during the regular season, and he surpassed Braden Holtby April 7 for most wins (294) by a goalie in 1st 500 games played.
Varlamov, who turns 36 Saturday, will get the start once again. Coach Patrick Roy turned to Ilya Sorokin briefly in Game 3, but he was pulled for Varlamov in the 2nd period after surrendering 3 goals on 14 shots. Varlamov, who was the goaltender and a Vezina finalist for Roy while they were together in Colorado in 2014, finished the contest, while Sorokin sadly stood in the tunnel and watched.
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Hurricanes at Islanders picks and predictions
Prediction
Hurricanes 3, Islanders 2
Moneyline
PASS.
This is too much juice to lay on Carolina (-182) alone, especially since it’s Varlamov’s birthday and this veteran Islanders group is fighting for the chance to play together 1 more time.
Puck line/Against the spread
BACK ISLANDERS +1.5 (-182) IN A PARLAY.
It’s also too juicy to back the Islanders by themselves on the puck line. However, if you believe the TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING +1.5 (-250 vs. Florida Panthers, 5 p.m. ET) will keep it within a goal as I do, pairing these 2 teams down 3-0 on the PL will pay out +116.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 5.5 (-122).
No team had a lower expected goals against during the regular season than Carolina (2.19), and it also saw the fewest shots on goal against (1668). The Islanders blocked the most shots during the regular season (1380), and with their season on the line, expect guys like D Noah Dobson and D Alexander Romanov to sacrifice their bodies in front of Varlamov.
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