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Lightning Face Upstart Hurricanes in Second-Round Series

The Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning each had a bit of a challenge in their first-round series but in the end, both made it through to the second round fairly comfortably. The stakes are raised as the defending Stanley Cup champs face the team that finished with the most points in the Eastern Conference this season. If you take a look at the NHL series odds, the Hurricanes – the team who had more points this season and has the home-ice advantage – are posted as the underdogs. Is there value betting them in this spot or will the Lightning cash as the oddsmakers expect them to? Let’s take a closer look at this matchup and make some NHL picks.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes

Series Start: Sunday, May 30, 2021 – 5 p.m. ET

Vincent Trocheck faces off Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes Predictions
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP

Location: PNC Arena – Raleigh, NC

Hockey Odds: Lightning -135 To Win Series

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are built around offense as their 24 goals lead the playoffs. They have scored at least three goals in all but one of their six postseason games and should only get stronger as we move along. Remember, this is a team that played a huge chunk of the season without superstar Nikita Kucherov. He came back for the first round and has shown no signs of rust, notching 11 points in six games. With Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Alex Killorn, and others, this team has an embarrassment of riches upfront. Oddly enough, they haven’t had a playoff goal from the blue line yet – not that it means a whole lot.

The Lightning are excellent with special teams as they lead the Eastern Conference in power-play percentage. They’re clicking at an incredible 40% rate after notching four power-play goals in six first-round games. They’ll probably have fewer opportunities against the more disciplined Hurricanes but if they continue to capitalize, they’ll have the upper hand.

The key for Tampa is to play these games at their pace. They’re one of the best free-skating, high-octane teams in the NHL. If they drag the Hurricanes into shootouts, the Lightning are more than likely to advance. If Carolina is able to dictate the pace of play and Tampa Bay is dragged into grind-it-out defensive slugfests, Carolina will have the edge.

Carolina Hurricanes

If the Hurricanes are to win this series, it’s likely because their edge on the blueline and in net is the difference. The Lightning aren’t bad between the pipes but it’s clear that’s their vulnerable point. In the first round, Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed 16 goals while posting a 2.64 GAA. The only teams with goaltenders that have allowed more goals this postseason have already been eliminated, so that’s not exactly a great omen for Tampa Bay. As for Carolina, Alex Nedeljkovic continues to shine. There were a couple of rough patches in the first round but he mostly played well. He gave up nine goals in the Hurricane’s two losses; he allowed just seven in the four wins. On the whole, he posted a .922 save percentage.

The Hurricanes and Lightning met eight times in the regular season with the Hurricanes going 4-3-1. Essentially, that’s a 4-4 record. These two teams are quite evenly matched and the issue will be can Carolina’s offense keep up with Tampa Bay’s or can Tampa Bay’s defense hold up as well as Carolina’s?

“We’ve been through a lot even though we’re a young team and it definitely helps. This is the third straight year we’re in the playoffs and we try to learn every year and every game. It doesn’t matter if it’s a win or loss, it’s a process and I think we’re on the right track. They are the defending champs and there’s a reason for that. They’re a really good team, and we have to play our best if we can beat them,” said Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho. The failures of previous seasons could push them to advance this time around.

Series Prediction:

Hurricanes 4, Lightning 3

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