The New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes had the same number of wins and were separated by just one point in the regular season standings. Those numbers would suggest a few close games in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. That hasn’t been the case, though, with each of the first three games decided by four goals or more. No strangers to facing a 0-2 series deficit, the Devils head back to Raleigh for Game 5 on Thursday after dropping the first two games by a combined score of 11-2. Jersey rebounded to beat the Rangers in the opening round after losing the first two games 5-1. A strong road team all season, Seattle has continued that play in the postseason winning three times in Denver, including 2-1 in Game 7, to oust the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche in the first round. The Kraken won the opener of their Western Conference semifinal against Dallas on the road extending their road winning streak to four before dropping Game 2.
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NHL Playoffs Schedule for Thursday, May 11
New Jersey at Carolina, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
Seattle at Dallas, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
NHL Playoffs Picks for Thursday, May 11, 2023
A strong road team during the season with a record of 28-9-4, the Devils will need to win in Carolina to claim the series. And they’ll have to play much better than they did in the first two games. coming off their emotional seven-game series win over Hudson River rival New York, the Devils had nothing in the tank dropping the opener 5-1 and falling 6-1 in Game 2.
Carolina effectively shut down New Jerseys transition game slowing the speedy Devils with puck possession and strong goaltending. One game or even two games don’t make a series and the Devils got support from their top players in Game 3 winning 8-4. One troubling area for New Jersey has been defense. A strong team during the season keeping the puck out of their net, it’s been a free for all with the Canes scoring 15 times in the first three outings and the clubs cashing the OVER in each one.
The Canes have some issues in net as well with Frederik Andersen yanked in Game 3 after giving up four goals on 12 shots. There’s a good chance Antti Raanta is back in net after being shelved with an illness after Game 5 of the Islanders series. Raanta won 19 of his 26 regular season starts boasting a 2.23 GAA and .910 save percentage. It’s hard to imagine the Canes’ offense continuing at the pace it started the series and the club is known more for its defensive posturing under hard-nosed coach Rod Brind’Amour.
With the Devils getting guys like Nico Hischier and Timo Meier scoring goals, the league’s fourth best offense during the regular season will apply enough pressure to go OVER the total. And with stronger play in net and not allowing shorthanded tallies, the Devils could win the game.
The Dallas Stars not only lost Game 3 of their series with the Kraken, star defenseman Miro Heiskanen was shelved after taking a puck to the face just before Seattle’s Jordan Eberle scored the game’s first goal in an eventual 7-2 win. “That’s not why we lost,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “They were the better team tonight.”
If out for any length of time Heiskanen’s absence leaves a huge void in the lineup. Averaging over 29 minutes of ice time, the most of any player this postseason, Heiskanen also plays a significant part in the team’s power play and penalty kill units. He’s a hockey player and guys have returned after suffering worse so I expect Heiskanen will be back on the ice as long as there are no other issues.
And his presence should inspire Dallas while also helping to keep the puck out of their net. One of the better defensive clubs during the season, the seven goals allowed in Game 3 were the most in any contest this season. Look for the Stars to crack down defensively leading to big home win.
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