The Carolina Hurricanes scored more goals against the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series than they’ve allowed in five total meetings with Boston this season. Ditto for Game 2. So of course heading into Friday’s Game 3, Bruins vs Hurricanes odds show Carolina as … an underdog?
Apparently, bookmakers believe some home cooking is all Boston needs to solve the season-long mystery that has been the Hurricanes. The Bruins and their fans better hope those oddsmakers are accurate, or summer vacation is going to start super early in New England.
Props.com breaks down Bruins vs Hurricanes odds for Game 3, with the scene shifting to Beantown, where Carolina looks to push Boston to the brink of elimination.
Odds via WynnBet and updated as of 6:35 p.m. ET on May 6.
Game 3: Carolina Hurricanes (2-0) vs. Boston Bruins (0-2)
Puck drop/TV: 7 p.m. ET/TNT
Moneyline: Bruins -148/Hurricanes +128
Puckline: Bruins -1.5 (+200)/Hurricanes +1.5 (-250)
Total: 5.5 (Over -125/Under +105)
Series Price: Hurricanes -460/Bruins +360
Game 2 Recap: Carolina followed a 5-1 blowout victory in Game 1 with a 5-2 rout Wednesday. The Hurricanes raced out to a 3-0 lead 21 minutes into the contest and maintained a multi-goal advantage the rest of the way.
Season Series: Hurricanes lead 5-0. They haven’t trailed in any of those contests.
Slap Shots
- Carolina forwards Nino Niederreiter and Sabastian Aho each netted two goals in Game 2, while defensemen Tony DeAngelo (3) and Jaccob Slavin (2) combined for five assists.
- The Hurricanes overcame the loss of starting goaltender Antti Raanta, who was knocked out in the first period after a collision in goal. Pyotr Kochetkov relieved Raanta — who himself was starting in place of injured No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen — and the rookie stopped 30 of 32 shots.
- Veteran center Patrice Bergeron tallied both of Boston’s goals in Game 2. He also had a game-high seven shots.
- The Bruins outshot Carolina for the second straight game, this time 38-34. Despite having an 84-59 shots edge in the series, Boston has been outscored 10-3.
- Like the series opener, Game 2 was extremely chippy, with multiple scuffles. In all, 26 penalties were called. Yet the teams combined to go 3-for-14 on the power play after a combined 0-for-6 effort in Game 1.
- Raanta has been ruled out for Game 3. Andersen (lower body) also isn’t fully healed. So Kochetkov is expected to get the start Friday.
Streaks & Stats
The Bruins followed a 6-1 run with three straight losses, starting with a 5-2 setback at Toronto to cap the regular season. Boston has scored three goals or less in 13 of its last 16 games, tallying two or fewer goals nine times during this stretch.
The Hurricanes have won eight in a row dating to April 18, outscoring their opponents 37-18. Carolina tallied at least four goals in 10 of its past 12 games, including the last five in a row. Also, the Canes have held eight straight opponents and 13 of the last 14 to three goals or fewer.
Betting Nuggets
Carolina has now outscored the Bruins 26-4 in the five meetings this season. That includes two wins in Boston, by scores of 7-1 and 6-0. … The favorite is 24-8 in the last 32 Bruins-Canes clashes (7-1 last eight). … The Hurricanes are 4-0 on the road during their eight-game winning streak. … Prior to this season, Carolina had lost nine of 10 at Boston. …The Over has cashed in the last four series meetings and nine of the Canes’ last 12 overall (5-0 last five).
Game 3 Best Bet
Hurricanes +128 (moneyline).
Bruins vs Hurricanes Odds and Action
UPDATE 6:40 P.M. ET FRIDAY: About an hour before puck drop, WynnBet has Game 3 of this series priced at Bruins -148/Hurricanes +128. While that moneyline has shot up from WynnBet’s opener of Bruins -135/Hurricanes +115, the action favors Carolina at 56% tickets and 79% cash. The puck line opened at Boston -1.5 (+200)/Carolina +1.5 (-250). It’s now down to Boston +195/Carolina -240 amid two-way action of 75% wagers on the ‘Canes and 93% cash on the Bruins.
The total opened at 5.5 -110 both ways and is now 5.5/Over -125. A whopping 87% of the tickets are on the Over, as is 55% of the money.
UPDATE 12:45 P.M. ET FRIDAY: DraftKings opened the Bruins as a -120 home chalk for Game 3, with the odds quickly stretching to -130. The moneyline then toggled between -125 and -135 before jumping to Boston -140 moments ago. There’s two-way action so far, with 62% of bets on the Hurricanes (now +115) and 56% of money on the Bruins.
The puckline was initially set at Bruins +200/Hurricanes -250 and has bounced around for the last 24 hours, reaching a low point of Boston +175 before returning to the opening odds. Carolina is taking the majority of puckline action, at 72% tickets/78% money.
The total quickly dropped from an opener of 6 flat to 5.5 (Over -120). The juice initially fell to Over -115 but is now back to Over -120, with nearly all the bets (93%) and cash (89%) siding with the Over.
