The New York Islanders now have zero rooms for a loss, as another setback would mean a vacation for Barry Trotz’s team. The Islanders can extend the series with a win this Friday on the road, which should also ensure at least one more game at home. As for the Hurricanes, they certainly don’t want to prolong the series anymore, and will look to finish it all up in front of their home crowd. For odds and prices for each NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs series you can click here.
Betting on the New York Islanders (48-27-7, Regular Season)
The Islanders kept in step with Carolina in Game 3, and was even tied with the Hurricanes, 2-2, past the midway mark of the third period. But that was when the wheels fell off for New York, which surrendered three goals in a row in the final frame to lose to Carolina on Wednesday, 5-2. The Islanders didn’t do a fine job keeping the puck away from Carolina, as they were outshot, 38-30. They also faltered in most of the faceoffs, winning just 41.4 percent of the faceoffs. Head coach Barry Trotz, however, remain very confident in his squad’s resiliency, saying that he doesn’t ‘doubt’ his players’ sense of urgency and ability to deliver when their backs are against the wall. The Islanders’ offense will have to wake up in a big way if they are to get out of the hole the team is currently in. The top line of Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, and Jordan Eberle have produced four goals over the past five games, but only one of those has been scored in this series.
The under is 3-1 in the Islanders’ last three road games.
Betting on the Carolina Hurricanes (46-29-7, Regular Season)
Even without regular starter Petr Mrazek in front of the net for Carolina in Game 3, the Hurricanes still managed to survive the game, thanks in large part to the job of backup Curtis McElhinney between the pipes. McElhinney, who became the oldest goalie in NHL history to make his playoff start debut at age 35, turned away 28 of 30 shots. It’s unclear whether McElhinney will get the start again in Game 4, with Mrazek still considered day to day due to a lower-body injury, but if he does, his performance in Game 3 should have fed him enough confidence to deliver again. That’s not to mention that Carolina has a huge series cushion to reduce whatever pressure McElhinney will be feeling this coming Friday. Unlike its New York counterpart, Carolina’s top line came up big in Game 3, as Sebastian Aho and Justin Williams each found the back of the net once. Third-liner Teuvo Teravainen, meanwhile, shipped in two goals to help Carolina move a win away from making it to the Eastern Conference finals.
