The Carolina Hurricanes were up to their old tricks in Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators. With little room to operate on the ice, and neither team willing to come out of its shell and open up the game, the Canes waited for a good bounce, took advantage of it, and then made that lead stick.
Carolina’s swarming defense was the story in the opener, and now the pressure is on the Sens to put the Canes on the back foot on Monday night. Easier said than done in Raleigh.
Carolina is a -152 favorite to win Game 2.
Senators vs. Hurricanes Game 2 odds, predictions
It’s hard to size up how Ottawa played in Saturday’s curtain-raiser. The Sens were strong in their own zone and did a good job of containing Carolina, a tough team to bottle up.
At the same time, Ottawa failed to put Carolina under any real pressure, generating just five high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5. The Senators were on the wrong end of a tight official review for what would have been the game-tying goal, but the Sens simply didn’t sustain enough pressure against the Canes to stand a chance.
That’s not a new storyline for Rod Brind’Amour’s team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially when they’re a favorite in the early rounds. Carolina has made a habit of suffocating teams in Round 1, forcing them into mistakes and making them count.
Betting on the NHL?
However, Ottawa is not your typical No. 8 seed. The Sens entered the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the league, and much of their success was built on stifling defense. The Senators can go toe-to-toe with the Canes; they just need to be willing to play on the front foot more often than they did in Game 1.
We should see a more aggressive, physical start from the Sens, which should lead to a back-and-forth opening stanza, which puts value on the first period to go over 1.5 goals. It also should give Ottawa a better chance at pulling the upset and knotting up this best-of-seven series.
The Plays: 1P Over 1.5 goals (-120, DraftKings)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
