The Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders meet Friday for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, as the series shifts back to Long Island. Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Hurricanes vs. Islanders odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Carolina leads the series 3-2.
The Hurricanes frittered away a chance to close out the Islanders on home ice, and now Carolina must go back on the road to try to make things happen.
Carolina was able to pick up a win on the road last time out, posting a 5-2 win in Game 4. That snapped an 8-game postseason road losing streak, which was the longest in the NHL.
New York scratched and clawed for a 3-2 win in Game 5 on Tuesday night in Raleigh, and it benefited from a video review call which overturned a Stefan Noesen goal which would have leveled the game 1-1 at the time.
Tuesday’s game also featured no power-play goals, as New York was 0-for-3 on the man advantage and Carolina was 0-for-4. Carolina lost despite outshooting New York by a 36-22 margin. The Isles were far more physical, however, posting 33 hits to 27 for the Canes, and New York blocked 22 shots to just 4 for Carolina.
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Hurricanes at Islanders odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 7:01 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Hurricanes +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Islanders -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Hurricanes +1.5 (-275) | Islanders -1.5 (+220)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5 (O: -145 | U: +120)
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Hurricanes at Islanders projected goalies
Antti Raanta (19-3-3, 2.23 GAA, .910 SV%, 4 SO – regular season) vs. Ilya Sorokin (31-22-7, 2.34 GAA, .924 SV%, 6 SO – regular season)
Raanta faced just 22 shots in Game 5, allowing 3 goals. With Frederik Andersen practicing with the team, and now dressing as the backup, Raanta might be on a bit of a short leash in Game 6 if things start to go south early.
Sorokin turned back 34 of the 36 shots he faced in Game 5, as the Canes were putting a lot of rubber on him. It was a nice rebound game after he let in 5 goals on 29 shots in Game 4 on the Island.
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Hurricanes at Islanders picks and predictions
Prediction
Hurricanes 3, Islanders 2
Moneyline
The HURRICANES (+100) at even-money are a solid play in this elimination game.
Carolina proved it can win on the road, thrashing New York 5-2 Sunday in Game 4, getting a huge monkey off of its collective back.
The rest will likely do the Canes some good, too. They are 4-1 in the last 5 games when playing on 2 days rest, while the Isles are just 5-11 in the last 16 after 2 days rest. New York has managed just a 1-4 mark in the last 5 after a victory, too.
Puck line/Against the spread
The Hurricanes +1.5 (-275) are quite pricey if you don’t trust them straight up, and would prefer a little insurance instead. You can’t risk nearly 3 times your potential return, as that’s just not a recommended long-term betting strategy.
AVOID.
Over/Under
In this Game 6, we have a total of 5, and I think that’s exactly how many goals we see. That was the same exact total in Game 5 in Raleigh.
AVOID the game total, but play UNDER 1.5 (-155) – FIRST PERIOD. New York had a goal in Game 5 in the opening 20 minutes, but that snapped a 9-game postseason streak without a goal in the opening period. We have seen 1 or no goals in all 5 games in this series to date.
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