The Carolina Hurricanes did the impossible. They beat the Florida Panthers on the road, finally winning an Eastern Conference Final matchup after a 15 game losing streak. Now they've forced a Game 5 back at the Lenovo Center and are looking to ride that momentum into a much needed victory to keep their season alive.
After losing the first three games by an aggregate score of 16-4, the Hurricanes successfully shutout the Panthers on their own ice, outshooting them in the win as well. We saw a scoreless first period between the two teams before the Canes found a go ahead goal in the middle of the second. That lead held until there was less than three minutes on the clock, when Carolina added two empty netters to secure a 3-0 shutout victory.
Can they bring that energy into their home arena and survive once again? Or will the Ice Cats quit playing with their food and finish them off once and for all?
I am not betting against the Panthers. Got it? I think they end things. Sure, they decided to be gentlemen and let the Canes get one, but I don't think they let it happen again. However, I will be taking a stab at the total, something I have yet to do in this series.
I don't mind paying this juice. In every single contest, we've only really had one team contribute to the total. Two of four have stayed under, and in seven total games, we've had someone be shutout in three of those contests.
The Canes killed all seven penalties when they were down in Sunrise, and their defense has certainly kept them in this series. They've held the Ice Cats to just 21 shots in 3/4 contests this series, while getting their bodies in front of plenty of pucks as well.
As for Florida, they've also been plenty sound on the defensive end, and of course, Sergei Bobrovsky is playing out of his mind. He's stopped 93.6% of shots faced this series and I think he continues to play well.
If the Hurricanes can contain the Panthers' attack, which they did last matchup, they'll make it easy on their keeper and have a much better shot at keeping this low scoring. Carolina does not want to get into a shootout with Florida. A low scoring game is the style the Hurricanes would benefit from the most, and being at home, I think they have a good shot of controlling the tempo and focusing on defense. Ironically, I still think Florida wins.
Give me the under in Game 5, which I expect to be the final matchup of this series.
Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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