The Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes play Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs second-round series Sunday. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET at PNC Arena. Below, we analyze the Lightning-Hurricanes odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Lightning pushed past their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers, in six games. Now, they travel to Raleigh, N.C., where they were 1-2-1 in four games at PNC Arena in the regular season.
The Hurricanes edged the Nashville Predators in six games, with the previous four outings going to overtime or double-overtime.
Lightning at Hurricanes: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:21 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Lightning -110 (bet $110 to win $100) | Hurricanes -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Lightning +1.5 (-275) | Hurricanes -1.5 (+220)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Lightning at Hurricanes: Projected starting goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (31-10-1, 2.21 GAA, .925 SV%, 5 SO) vs. Alex Nedeljkovic (15-5-3, 1.90 GAA, .932 SV%, 3 SO)
Vasilevskiy was great overall, but he can be beaten on the road. He was just 13-8-1 with a 2.63 GAA and .916 SV% in 22 road starts. He went 3-3-1 with a 2.14 GAA and .933 SV% with one shutout against the Hurricanes in seven regular-season starts.
Nedeljkovic posted four wins in six games in his first-career postseason series against the Predators. He went 7-1-2 with a 1.76 GAA and .934 SV% with two shutouts in 10 regular-season starts at PNC Arena. The rookie was also 2-1-0 with a 1.02 GAA and .962 SV% with one shutout against Tampa Bay.
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Lightning at Hurricanes: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Lightning 4, Hurricanes 2
Money line (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-110) are the defending champs with a Vezina-caliber backstop in the crease, while the Hurricanes have a rookie goaltender in net. We saw how that worked out for the New York Islanders in Game 1 of their series with the Boston Bruins as G Ilya Sorokin crumbled.
Still, Carolina is at home and it will have its raucous crowd’s support. So, it won’t be easy for Tampa. Still, the lean is with the champs.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The Lightning +1.5 (-275) are not worth playing here as it will cost you nearly three times your potential return.
AVOID and just look to the money line instead.
Over/Under (O/U)
The total line of 6 (Over +100 | Under -120) will likely come in right on the number, so I don’t like it. However, if there is a lean here, I’d go with the alternate line of OVER 5.5 (-125) as I can see plenty of goals being scored in this opening game as the teams feel each other out early.
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