In case you missed it last night, the Vegas Golden Knights punched their ticket into the Stanley Cup Finals. In doing so, they eliminated the expected champion, the Colorado Avalanche. In fact, they swept them. Now we are looking for who they will face in the Finals. That comes down to the Hurricanes or Canadiens, who will play at least five games. Tonight is Game 4.
The Carolina Hurricanes finally seem like they’ve broken down that wall that has hindered them for a few seasons. It is hard to say the Hurricanes have been disappointing because they’ve been one of the best teams in hockey for multiple seasons. Unfortunately, they kept coming up short in the postseason. It is too soon to say they’ve fully conquered the demons, but they are just two games away from getting to the Finals.
They had another great regular season, going 53-22-7 for the year, and they were very good on the road at 24-12-5. This postseason has seen a hot Hurricanes team. They are now 10-1 in the playoffs with the lone loss coming in Game 1. I won’t exactly call them overly dominant, because half of their wins have needed overtime, but winning is winning, no matter how or when it happens. After a shaky Game 1, Frederik Andersen has allowed two goals in each of the past two wins.
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The Montreal Canadiens are behind in the series, but being down 2-1 isn’t that much different than being down 1-0 in a series. That was the situation they found themselves in during their last series against the Buffalo Sabres. The Canadiens won three of the next four before ultimately winning that series in seven games. They’ve had some very close matchups in the postseason and have played significantly more hockey than their opponents. At a certain point, fatigue may catch up, and it feels like that is happening now.
The Canadiens have played 17 games in the postseason, and they’ve gone into overtime in seven of those games. That’s a lot of hockey. Now they are facing a fast and talented Carolina team with a goalie who has played well lately. Jakob Dobes, the Canadiens’ goalie, has been admirable. He has allowed eight goals this series, and only in Game 2 did he have a lower-than-average save percentage.
I wouldn’t describe this game as a must-win situation for the Canadiens, but it is certainly an important one for them to take. The Hurricanes would definitely prefer to take this game because they have the momentum now and don’t want to lose that for any reason.
I think this is a game where we will see the goalies crack a little bit. By now, both teams are comfortable facing each other. The Hurricanes have finally gotten less pressure on themselves and now can attack relentlessly, perhaps taking chances they wouldn’t have previously. The Canadiens will have to be aggressive to tie it up. Give me the over 5.5.
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