In this article, we’ll outline our best Canadiens vs. Hurricanes prediction for Game 2, as well as the relevant betting notes for both teams, so you can place a winning wager with any of the best NHL betting sites.
The Montreal Canadiens were the drastically more organized side in the series opener and did an excellent job of capitalizing on a slew of poor decisions by the Carolina Hurricanes defensive core. According to tonight’s NHL odds, Oddsmakers are not sold on the chances that Game 2 will follow a similar script, as at the time of writing, Carolina is an even larger favourite in Game 2 than it was in the series opener.
After losing our Game 1 prediction backing Jakub Dobes to make 30+ saves, our Canadiens picks this postseason now stand at 8-4 and +8.45 units. We will look to bounce back by taking a stab at backing the Canadiens to steal Game 2 at a hefty +175.
Canadiens vs Hurricanes Prediction: Canadiens Moneyline +175 (Play to +165)
Whether rust played a role in all of Carolina’s miscues or not, it was painfully obvious that they shot themselves in the foot with a ton of poor decisions defensively in Game 1. It’s hard to imagine Carolina not playing a much cleaner defensive game Saturday, and I’m not necessarily buying into the narrative that it is a “fraud” in picking Montreal here.
We don’t need to lie about the fact that Carolina will be better in Game 2 and is an elite team in order to think the Canadiens still hold value at a long price of +175, though.
The Hurricanes’ F3 was caught out of position consistently in Game 1, while their blue liners made a number of overly aggressive step-ups, leading to odd-man situations. Those types of mistakes from the Hurricanes likely won’t be made nearly as often in Game 2, but the Canadiens also did a great job defensively in Game 1, which should give them a fighting chance to succeed Saturday, even if Carolina really cleans things up.
Suddenly, Frederik Andersen feels like somewhat of a question mark in goal as well, adding to the volatility of this game, a factor that works in favour of backing the Canadiens at a really long price. Andersen has dominated the first two rounds of the postseason before in his career, before falling apart when the going really gets tough.
While most of the Canadiens’ goals came off full-fledged defensive breakdowns and were not supposed to be saved, it’s possible Andersen’s confidence could be shaken, while Dobes feels like an absolute rock at the other end.
Canadiens Moneyline
Canadiens vs. Hurricanes Odds
| Canadiens Moneyline odds | (+175) |
| Hurricanes Moneyline odds | (-210) |
| Puck Line Odds | Canadiens +1.5 (-150), Hurricanes -1.5 (+125) |
| Series Winner Odds | Canadiens (+105), Hurricanes (-125) |
| Goal Total | Over 6 goals (-105), Under 6 (-115) |
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Betting Montreal Canadiens
There are a ton of positives for the Canadiens to take away from Game 1, but perhaps the most impressive part of their performance was their third-period defense, as the Hurricanes attempted to push while down two goals. Things got a little hairy at the end of the second when the Hurricanes cut the lead to two goals, but head coach Martin St. Louis’s side locked it down in the third, allowing only two shots on goal.
One of Montreal’s concerns this postseason has been the way they have sat back, attempting to nurse leads across the finish line. The Canadiens have controlled play respectably in neutral-zone play this postseason, but have been outchanced considerably while attempting to protect leads. They did a much better job in that regard in Game 1.
The Canadiens did a good job of keeping their shape defensively when the Hurricanes did generate extended zone time, and then forcing mistakes going the other way. Chances are the Hurricanes will generate more shots on goal and have more offensive zone time in the series, but if Montreal can continue to capitalize on Carolina’s aggressiveness by generating ultra-threatening chances in transition, it will make things very tough for Andersen.
Dobes holds a save percentage of .911 on medium-danger chances this postseason, and it feels as though the Canadiens have found a solid rhythm in bending but not breaking defensively and leaning on their red-hot goaltender in an appropriate fashion.
Chances are Dobes will face a hefty workload in this game, but we have seen the Hurricanes struggle to create the kind of looks needed to beat this calibre of goaltending in the Stanley Cup playoffs before, and it doesn’t feel entirely unlucky that a similar narrative could take place in this series.
Betting Carolina Hurricanes
While you have to give the Canadiens credit for capitalizing on the Hurricanes miscues in Game 1, it was also obvious that the Hurricanes played their worst game of the postseason. Montreal might be the best offensive team Carolina has faced, but it still seemed that the outcome of Game 1 had more to do with the Hurricanes making a ton of needless errors.
Jaccob Slavin finished -4 and had a downright horrific performance, in which seemingly every read was off. K’Andre Miller also had a brutal performance, while the third pairing of Shayne Gostisbehere and Alexander Nikishin was also not overly sharp.
Carolina’s defensive core should be able to clean things up in this matchup, but it has questions to answer beyond the obvious breakdowns.
I’m not a believer that the Senators were fraudulent this postseason, but it’s not like the Hurricanes truly dominated Ottawa either. In the words of Rod Brind’Amour, the series was a sweep, but it didn’t look like a sweep. Excluding empty netters, three of the games were decided by one goal, and Carolina did require overtime twice in Round Two versus Philadelphia.
So while their 8-0 record entering this series was impressive, there were a lot of really close games along the way, and Andersen’s brilliance was a big part of the story. If Andersen is to start offering results comparable to his regular-season play, it will make winning closely contested matchups drastically less likely for the Hurricanes.
