Hurricanes vs. Capitals NHL second-round playoff | Sports News

Hurricanes vs. Capitals NHL second-round playoff…

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For the second straight spring, the Carolina Hurricanes are the betting favorites in Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the group that both completed forward of them and received the Metropolitan Division.

Last yr, the Canes got here into Round 2 as a fashionable favourite against the New York Rangers only to get dispatched in six video games after falling behind in the sequence, 3-0.

This yr, the Hurricanes are -164 favorites against the Washington Capitals, who have barely put a foot mistaken all season.

Why can’t the betting market resist falling for Carolina every season?

A giant half of what makes the Hurricanes so enticing to bettors is the way in which they play. 

Most skilled bettors and oddsmakers closely skew their betting fashions in the direction of 5-on-5 stats since the sport is usually performed at even power, and Carolina’s statistical profile at 5-on-5 is elite.

Hurricanes vs. Capitals Round 2 sequence odds

GroupOddsCarolina Hurricanes+136Washington Capitals-164Odds via FanDuel

Not only did the Hurricanes tempo the NHL this season with 71 shot makes an attempt per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, they also allowed the fewest makes an attempt per 60, and had been the only group in the league that conceded fewer than 50 makes an attempt per hour at even power. 

The criticism of Carolina’s everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality is that the Canes hardly cross up a likelihood to fire the puck at the web, which leads to a lot of very low share appears to be like. No group in the NHL registered fewer low-danger probabilities, per Natural Stat Trick, than the Hurricanes.

What ought to also be regarding for the Canes in this sequence is that the Capitals do a lot of the identical issues nicely that the Rangers did final season, and they’re a higher 5-on-5 group than those Blueshirts had been in 2023-24.

Aliaksei Protas returned to the lineup for the Capitals in Game 5 of Round 1. NHLI via Getty Images

Washington might not tilt the ice like Carolina does, but the Caps completed with the fifth-best aim distinction at 5-on-5, and they had been eighth in high-danger scoring likelihood charge and eleventh in anticipated objectives share.

Not only that, but Washington is an extraordinarily well-drilled outfit under presumptive Jack Adams Award favourite Spencer Carbery.

If you don’t let the Canes overwhelm you, it turns into very troublesome for them to win, because they don’t have many gamers who can create magic on their own. 

The Capitals are as composed and structured as any group in the NHL, so it’s unlikely that they’ll get thrown off their recreation as simply as most different groups by the chaos that Carolina tries to create. 

Betting on the NHL?

The different edge that Washington has in this sequence, at least on paper, is in the blue paint. Freddie Andersen has posted sturdy numbers for the Canes this season, but he was injured in Round 1, and his standing is murky for the beginning of this best-of-seven.

That would depart the inconsistent Pyotr Kochetkov as Carolina’s different option. 

On the opposite finish, Logan Thompson is coming off a terrific season for the Caps, and the previous Golden Knight was very good in Round 1. 

The odds for this sequence paint Carolina as a clear favourite despite not having home-ice benefit.

The story of the tape, the attention check, and just about all the pieces else recommend this is far nearer to a coin flip.

The Caps have worth as an underdog in this sequence.

Long-shot prop

If you’re wanting for one thing a little friskier than just the +136 on the Capitals to win the sequence, Aliaksei Protas to lead the sequence in objectives is sitting at 30/1.

Protas missed most of Round 1, but drew back in the lineup for Game 5. 

The hulking winger completed with 30 objectives this season, the third-most for the Caps this season.

LEADING SCORER: Aliaksei Protas to rating most objectives (30/1, DraftKings)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports activities bettor with 10 years of expertise in the playing industry. He loves utilizing recreation idea to help punters win bracket swimming pools, discover long pictures, and be taught how to beat the market in mainstream and area of interest sports activities.

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