We have loved the action throughout this impressive NHL regular season and first round of the playoffs, but now we are entering the second round, with a spot in the Conference Finals up for grabs. We are sure to see the cracking playoffs continue in Round 2, and with the Lightning still alive, many high quality teams will be looking to stop them from winning the Stanley Cup for a third time in a row. But before we get to the Stanley Cup Final, teams must make it through the second round.
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Look below to find our free NHL picks for the two Round 2 games on today’s schedule!
Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Rangers – 7.00PM ET
The series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers enters Game 4, and the Rangers finally have their first win of the series, after winning 3-1 in Game 3. The Hurricanes still lead the series 2-1, and they will be looking to take the win in this game, so they can play to win the series in Game 5 in front of their home crowd.
Marko Nadin
The New York Rangers got an important 3-1 win in Game 3 to stay alive in the series against the Hurricanes. The Rangers scored only one goal in the first two games of the series which seemed unpromising but they found a way to score three goals at home against the best defensive team in the league. The Rangers won that game despite the fact that the Hurricanes had 11 more shots on goal than them. The momentum now is definitely in Rangers’ favor but the Hurricanes are still the better team and will find a way to win this one and return home with a 3-1 lead, and a chance to close the series in the next game.
The Rangers have won the last 4 playoff games as favorites, 24 of the last 33 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game and 40 of the last 59 games against Eastern Conference teams. The Hurricanes have won 17 of the last 22 Conference Semifinals games, 36 of the last 53 games played after one day rest and have lost 20 of the last 26 games as underdogs.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (-105)
Tony Battalio
The Carolina Hurricanes will be looking to bounce back after dropping Game 3 of this second round Stanley Cup playoff series. They are still in a good spot after winning Game 1 and 2 at their home arena. They will be looking to take a 3-1 lead over the New York Rangers with a win in Madison Square Garden in Game 4. Them having home ice advantage could prove to be huge if they win here in Game 4, as it would give them the chance to close out the series at their home arena.
The New York Rangers got a huge win in Game 3, and now they will be looking to even up the series at two games a piece before heading back to Carolina for Game 5 of this series. If you’re someone who believes in superstitions then it seems like it would benefit the Rangers more to lose here in Game 4 and go down 1-3, after their first round comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins. As for the result of this one however, I am going with the Rangers to get the win in this one.
Tony’s NHL Pick: New York Rangers (-115)
Jeffery Thomas
This series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers has been dominated by the home team so far and the Rangers will hope that trend continues into Game 4. The road struggles for the Canes go back to the first round where they lost every game away from home. Luckily for them, they won the Metropolitan Division and have home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the postseason. The offense for Carolina has dipped in a big way ever since they took a 2-0 lead in the first round, scoring just 19 goals in the last eight games for an average of 2.4 a contest.
That is a whole goal under their regular season average and it has allowed Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin to gain his confidence back after a shaky first round. The theme for this pick is “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and I’m going right back to the total for Game 4. Take away the two empty netters in this series and there has only been a total of seven goals scored with a goalie in net through three games so that gives us a clear edge on the under once again. I’d be shocked if this game got anywhere near this total of 5.5.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Under 5.5 (-142)
Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers – 9.30PM ET
The Edmonton Oilers come into this Game 4 with the Calgary Flames holding a 2-1 series lead. The Flames won the first game, and then the Oilers rattled off two wins in a row, and will be looking for their third win in a row tonight in front of their home crowd.
Marko Nadin
The Edmonton Oilers have a great opportunity to get only one step away from the Western Conference Finals as they lead 2-1 in the Battle for Alberta series against the Calgary Flames. The Flames opened the series with a 9-6 win but then the Oilers came back strong winning back-to-back games by 5-3 on the road and 4-1 at home. The pressure is now on the Flames to bounce back and tie the series, but that will be extremely difficult in Rogers Place. The Oilers offense is very creative and aggressive, and the Flames are having a tough time slowing it down despite the fact that they were the second-best defense in the league in the regular season. The Oilers will not miss this opportunity to win at home and put themselves in a great situation to advance.
Edmonton has won 12 of the last 15 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game, 27 of the last 38 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game and 21 of the last 28 home games. Calgary has won 8 of the last 11 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game, 12 of the last 17 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game and the last 5 games following a loss of 3 or more goals.
Marko’s NHL Pick: Edmonton Oilers (-114)
Tony Battalio
The Battle of Alberta added another chapter in Game 3 and now it will grow again in Game 4. As the Edmonton Oilers come into this one after winning the last two games of the series to take a 2-1 over the Calgary Flames. Now Connor McDavid and company will be looking to win their third straight and head back across the province with a 3-1 as the series will return to Calgary.
The Calgary Flames could use a victory in this one as they are down 1-2 heading into Game 4 in Edmonton. They have been great all season long and now is the time to prove to the league that they are a legit Stanley Cup title contender. Personally I think whoever wins this series will be the team that represents the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. As for the result of this game, I am going with the Calgary Flames to pick up the win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4.
Tony’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-105)
Jeffery Thomas
The Edmonton Oilers have taken a 2-1 lead in this round 2 series with the Calgary Flames and a big part of that can be attributed to the play of Connor McDavid. The young superstar leads the NHL in postseason scoring with 23 points in just 10 games and has now recorded six consecutive multi-point performances. In a lot of ways the Flames have been outplaying the Oilers but they just don’t have an answer for McDavid, and now we see Edmonton as favorites in a game this series for the first time.
In seven games against the Oilers this year, Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom has given up four or more goals six times, so that’s obviously a big problem and shows how uncomfortable he is against this attack. One positive though for Calgary is their penalty kill was perfect in Game 3 and now has a 92% efficiency in the postseason which will be a big factor in them rallying in this series. I think the Flames have solid underdog value in this game as the better team, they’ll just need to do something to slow down McDavid which seems impossible right now. They are a team that had to come back from 1-2 down last round as well so they have it in them and I will be taking them to even up this series on Tuesday.
Jeffery’s NHL Pick: Calgary Flames (-105)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of writing, courtesy of FanDuel.
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