Carolina vs Tampa Bay: Hurricanes aren’t sure to win

Tampa, although only 2-1, won the first game of the series against Carolina. Will the Hurricanes be unable to put up a fight against the reigning champions? In the second game in Raleigh, Rod Brind’amour’s team has no margin for error.

A first-round clash against the Nashville Predators should not have given the Hurricanes any trouble, according to all predictions. However, after winning the first two games in regulation time, the teams had to play four overtimes. There were almost 6 overtime periods. As a result, Carolina closed the series 4-2 but got on their nerves. A poor first-round experience could be extremely detrimental to the series against the Lightning.

The first game of the second round confirmed that Rod Brind’amour’s team was not at its best, primarily psychologically. Tampa dominated midway through the second period and, while maintaining its balance, they led the game with confidence, despite their minimal advantage. Moreover, only after the Hurricanes managed to get back into the game, thanks to Bean’s efforts, did the Lightning score again. 1-2 is a minor defeat for Carolina, but somehow without much of a chance.

The Lightning have a bunch of game changers that could end up making the series with the Hurricanes a low-stress affair. That includes a phenomenal goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and, of course, a very efficient power play. Nine power-play goals in seven games, nearly 40% on the power play, is an excellent result.

Nikita Kucherov is particularly worth mentioning. The Russian forward missed the entire regular season, but surprisingly in the playoffs, he showed his level immediately. Along with Nathan MacKinnon from Colorado, Kucherov leads the postseason scoring race with 12 points (3 goals and 9 assists). Super defenseman Victor Hedman also has 9 assists.

Carolina should pick up a win in the upcoming game. However, it will be incredibly difficult to do so. Tampa have been improving as the playoffs have gone on, getting stronger from game to game. The Hurricanes had trouble scoring in the series with Nashville and it is not certain that Rod Brind’amour’s team will be able to get past Andrei Vasilevskiy in Game 2 of the second round to win in regular time. The Lightning will surely find their pucks. John Cooper’s team’s majority looks killer, while the Hurricanes are very fond of penalties. We predict that the match will not be productive and will quite possibly end in a tie in regular time. The Hurricanes will strive to win as this is a key matchup for them.

• Total Under 5.5 with odds of about 1.99;
• Tampa’s power play Total Over 0.5 for about 1.90;
• Draw in regular time for 4.30.