Three of the final four teams left in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs have been deciphered, leaving just one more, enormous Game 7 between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes left to complete the field.
While the Edmonton Oilers will face the Colorado Avalanche in the West, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning has been waiting quite a while to discover who they’ll face after sweeping the Florida Panthers.
It comes down to one final, winner-take-all matchup between New York and Carolina on Monday night in Raleigh.
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NHL Schedule, Odds, and Picks: May 30
New York Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes, 8 p.m. ET
- Game 7 (Series tied 3-3)
- Watch on ESPN
- Full series preview
Will something finally change in this series to provide some last-minute uncertainty?
The Hurricanes have won every single one of their home playoff games this postseason and lost every single one of their road games.
Monday night’s Game 7 is at home in Carolina, which certainly suggests that they’ll be moving on to the Eastern Conference Final.
Rod Brind’Amour’s men have been dominant at PNC Arena this postseason, going 7-0 with 25 goals scored compared to just eight allowed.
The Rangers have scored just two goals in three games in Carolina this series as their offense has proven completely ineffective. But that doesn’t count them out of Game 7.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin continues to play at an elite level, stopping 185 of 195 shots (.949 SV%) this series. That included a 37-save performance in a Rangers 5-2 Game 6 win at Madison Square Garden.
It’s an incredibly difficult ask, but Shesterkin will somehow have to be even better if he wants his Blueshirts to advance to the ECF.
We’re talking at the level of Mike Richter in their 1994 Cup run or John Davidson in 1979 against the Flyers and Islanders.
He’s certainly capable of doing that, but one goal for the Hurricanes at home could feel like an insurmountable hill to climb.
NHL Odds and The Pick:
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