The path for success for the New York Rangers coming into their second-round, best-of-seven series with the Carolina Hurricanes was pretty clear.
Igor Shesterkin needed to be the star and carry the team, and the top stars needed to find ways to score. They needed to score particularly on the power play, despite Carolina having the league's best penalty kill.
Let’s take a look at how it’s going and what NY sports betting players have in front of them.
The Rangers were clear underdogs to start the series.
They were priced at about +160 to win the series in NHL betting by most New York sportsbooks.
Rangers-Hurricanes Schedule, Results
After the first two games in Carolina, the Rangers were down 2-0 in the series despite playing what was probably their best game of the playoffs in Game 1: a 2-1 overtime loss in which they managed to outshoot Carolina. Losing that game was a tough pill to swallow as the Rangers outplayed the ‘Canes for much of the game.
Game 2 was another tight battle that New York lost, 2-0, as the two stingiest teams from the regular season unsurprisingly played to the under in both games.
As the series shifted to New York, the Rangers faced a must-win game, and they finally had it go the way they needed it to with Shesterkin stopping 43 shots in a 3-1 win.
The power play struck with a Mika Zibanejad goal and fellow first-liner Chris Kreider added to the lead in the second period. As it so often is, two goals was enough for Shesterkin, and the Rangers skated away with the 3-1 win.
A Look at the Rangers’ Odds
Heading into tonight’s Game 4, the Rangers now can be bet at +250 to win the series on FanDuel Sportsbook New York. They need win three more games and the ‘Canes are only two wins away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. FanDuel has the Hurricanes at -315 for the series.
The Rangers have long odds to win the Stanley Cup. Fan Duel has the Rangers at +2000 to win it all, with only the St. Louis Blues (+7000) behind them.
The Rangers are a -110 pick in tonight’s game on DraftKings Sportsbook New York.
However, with Carolina hosting two of the final three games to finish the series, it is a truly tough task for the Rangers.
The route for the Rangers to win seems to be to find a way to get an early lead and then Carolina is forced to open up its game a little bit. That would put the Rangers in the type of game they played all year.
With Shesterkin between the pipes, the Rangers know they can allow a ton of shots and still win. As mentioned, Zibanejad and Kreider both scored in Game 3 and fellow team leaders Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox also chipped in with assists, giving the stars some momentum heading into the pivotal fourth game.
If the Rangers lose this game, the series can’t be considered over after their comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Of course, tying up the series at two is a much preferable route.
Beating Carolina at home has proven to be a tough task, and the Rangers already need to beat them at least once in Raleigh. A loss in Game 4 would up that number to two.
A big game from Shesterkin has become the norm. He’s clearly settled in after a rough stretch against Pittsburgh, so New York will be free to open up the game once again and chase that ever-important first goal.
With both goalies playing so well, the under at 5.5 is again a solid bet in the odds.
