Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes Game 1 Prediction, NHL Odds
The Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes are set to meet in the playoffs for the first time. The Hurricanes are hoping their division championship is a good omen as the last time they finished the regular season tops in their division was 2006, which led to the only Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
Carolina is a -167 favourite to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Predators vs. Hurricanes Betting Analysis
The Hurricanes are likely feeling fairly confident heading into Game 1 as they won the first six games in the season series, outscoring Nashville 23-9 over those contests. Nashville got their revenge though, winning two late season games against Carolina, including a 5-0 win the last time these teams met, on May 10. Don’t expect a lot of goals in this series, as the total went Under in five of eight regular season games between these teams, including the final four times they met.
The Predators haven’t been a great road team the last couple of years. They’ve lost seven of their last eight games in Carolina and were 13-13-2 on the road this season. They were 29-27 against the spread this year, but they only covered in one of their final four road games. Nashville split the Over/Under on the road this season.
Home ice bodes well for Carolina in this series, as their home record is a big reason why they won the Central. The Hurricanes were 20-3-2 at PNC Arena and they won six of their last seven regular season home games. They were 25-31 ATS overall with 16 of those covers coming at home. The total went Under in five of the Hurricanes last seven games.
Nashville Predators
Nashville is a stronger team than people realize. Since Feb. 26, the Preds are 23-12-2 and they already beat the Hurricanes twice in May, outscoring them 8-1 in the process. A key piece of the Predators run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, Filip Forsberg could be a big factor here, but he’s been dealing with injury issues. Forsberg missed 17 games with an upper-body injury between late March and late April. He put up 32 points (12G, 20A) in 39 games this year and he’s a dynamic playoff player with 49 points (26G, 23A) in 65 career playoff games. Rookie Eeli Tolvanen could be another X-factor. He earned a spot on the top line after putting up 22 points (11G, 11A) this year, including 12 (6G, 6A) on the power-play.
Juuse Saros is easily the best goalie in this series and will be the starter for Game 1. Since March 18, Saros went 16-6-1 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .941 save percentage. He’ll be backed up by veteran Pekka Rinne, the goalie that backstopped Nashville on their 2017 Cup-run. In what could be his final season, Rinne had a 10-12-1 record this year with a 2.84 GAA and .907 SV. Saros finished the year with three shutouts, while Rinne had two.
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is coming into Game 1 hot on special teams against the Preds. The Hurricanes power-play was scoring at a 34.6 per cent rate agains Nashville during the regular season, while their penalty kill was successful 88.9 per cent of the time. Sebastian Aho was a big reason for Carolina’s success on the man advantage. Aho had a team-best 18 power-play points (7G, 11A) and led the Hurricanes with seven game-winning goals this year. He was the team’s leading scorer by a wide margin, with 57 points (24G, 33A) in 56 games. Jesper Fast is another key piece of this team, playing on both the power-play and penalty kill. Fast had 19 points this year (6G, 13A), including a career-high four power-play goals. He only had one power-play assist through his previous seven seasons.
Carolina doesn’t have a star-level goalie like Nashville, but they do have three very reliable netminders on the roster. Petr Mrazek will get the start in Game 1. Mrazek is healthy now, after missing 31 games with a broken thumb. He went 6-2-3 this year with a 2.06 GAA and .923 SV. He’ll be backed up by Alex Nedeljkovic, who was 15-5-3 with a 1.90 GAA and .932 SV. James Reimer will serve as the third goalie. Reimer was 15-5-2 with a 2.66 GAA and .906 SV.
