Hurricanes vs. Rangers Odds & Picks: Betting Value on Game 6 Over/Under

Hurricanes vs. Rangers Game 6 Odds

Home is where the heart is.

The Carolina Hurricanes lead the New York Rangers, 3-2, as they face off in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. The caveat is that no team has lost at home in this series. In fact, the Hurricanes haven't won on the road all postseason, a streak they are looking to break in Game 6.

New York is coming off its “worst game these playoffs,” according to coach Gerard Gallant. The Blue Shirts struggled to generate a sustainable offense during Game 5 and only got 15 shots on net. Can the Rangers get back on the hump as they look to keep their season alive?

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Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina has benefitted from its depth as all hands on deck have chipped in to the postseason success. Top producers include Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, Tony DeAngelo and Vincent Trocheck. Luckily for the Hurricanes, they’ve managed to mostly stay healthy as goalie Freddie Andersen (lower-body injury) is the lone player potentially sidelined.

The Canes have been fairly average at generating play. Their success has mostly come from playing lights out at home and receiving top-notch goaltending. Then, when they go on the road, things aren’t as peachy. Carolina is currently posting a decent 49.05 xGF%, but its power play has been pretty poor with a 12.77% success rate.

Antti Raanta has had a phenomenal postseason and is carrying the Hurricanes. The Finnish netminder always showed promise, but his inability to stay healthy limited him to a backup role for the duration of his career. With Andersen’s status up in the air, Raanta has taken on the reins with an exceptional .931 SV% and a +4.6 GSAx (Goals Saved Above Expected).

New York Rangers

Similar their opponents, the Rangers like to spread the wealth. Everyone has managed to contribute this postseason and New York has gotten wonderful play from youngsters K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko. Along with the young bucks, the moves to acquire Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano have paid off. Additionally, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and Chris Kreider are living up to their usual high standard.

The Rangers have shown they can hang with the big boys, but they’ve been inconsistent. Among the 16 teams that made the playoffs, the Rangers rank 15th in expected goals with a 40.57 xGF%. They’ve done better in the second round as they’ve managed a 48.62 xGF%. Either way they need to be better. The power play is where they really thrive, scoring at a 28.12% clip. 

No goaltender has had a more successful season than Igor Shesterkin. It’s widely recognized that Shesterkin is among the two best netminders in the world. The Vezina trophy favorite has dominated the playoffs after struggling in his first two playoff starts. Since then, he’s managed to post an elite .924 SV% and a +8.1 GSAx. 

Hurricanes vs. Rangers Pick

After watching this series it’s so hard to go against the home team. It’s sort of like a Jekyll & Hyde effect when both teams hit the road. Carolina has literally been unbeatable at home, but turns into a shell of itself when it’s time to travel. The Hurricanes have benefitted from an exceptional regular season that earned them home ice. However, the inability to win on the road is concerning.

Shesterkin has certainly felt the love when he comes home. In this series, he’s only allowed two goals in the Garden and it’s hard to imagine that'll change.

Since there’s always a chance the trend of the home ice darlings ends, I’m going a different route. The over/under is listed at five and with elite goaltending on both ends of the rink, no game has gone over five. I am backing the under as I don’t think you can get better value at +125.

Pick: Under 5 (+125)