The opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues on Tuesday, with two games on tap. The Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes will meet in the fifth game of a series that has had all kinds of drama thus far. After back-to-back double-overtime wins, the Predators have successfully leveled off the series at two games apiece. They’ll aim to steal a road win tonight while the Hurricanes need to get back on track in their return to home ice. This NHL betting preview for the Predators vs Hurricanes NHL Playoffs matchup will provide game info, betting trends, odds and a prediction for Game 5 of this series.
Nashville Predators vs Carolina Hurricanes Game Info | NHL Playoffs
NHL Central Division Semifinals NHL Playoffs Game 5 (Series tied 2-2)
Nashville Predators (64 pts, 31-23-2, 13-13-2 Away) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (80 pts, 36-12-8, 20-3-5 Home)
Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Start Time: 8 p.m. EST
Venue: PNC Arena — Raleigh, NC
Coverage: CNBC
After being outscored 8-2 in the first two games of this NHL Playoffs series, the Predators found overtime magic in both Games 3 and 4 at home to level things up. Luke Kunin was the Game 4 hero with the winner in the second OT. He also scored a regulation goal while Ryan Johansen and Nick Cousins each supplied a goal and an assist in the win. Many NHL betting analysts figured that Preds goaltender Juuse Saros would need to stand on his head on multiple occasions if this team were to have a shot of advancing. Well, he stopped 58 of a whopping 61 shots faced in Game 4. Of course, it certainly helps when you’ve got Tennessee Titans lineman Taylor Lewan going absolutely WILD in the stands!
For the Hurricanes, this past weekend was certainly a disappointment. After dominating the first two games of this NHL Playoffs series, the heavy series favorites suddenly find themselves needing to play a minimum of two more in order to advance. Luckily, the Canes still control home-ice advantage. That looms large given the fact that they’ve been virtually unbeatable in front of the rowdy Caniacs this season. Brock McGinn scored a pair of goals in the Game 4 loss while Jordan Martinock had two assists. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 39 of the 43 shots he faced, but he was upstaged by Saros in both OT games in Nashville.
NHL Betting Odds
Moneyline: NAS: (+168) | CAR: (-200)
Puck Line: NAS: +1.5 (-165) | CAR: -1.5 (+140)
Total: 5.5 — Over: (+116) | Under: (-142)
Predators vs Hurricanes Betting Trends
- Predators are just 2-6 straight up (SU) in their last eight road games.
- Hurricanes are 8-1 SU in their last nine home games.
- Predators are 5-15 SU in their last 20 head-to-head matchups against the Hurricanes.
- Hurricanes are 6-0 SU in their last six head-to-head matchups against the Predators in Carolina.
- The total has gone under in five of the Predators’ last seven road games played on a Tuesday.
- Under has hit in 10 of the Hurricanes’ last 14 home games played on a Tuesday.
Predators vs Hurricanes Prediction
This NHL prediction uses NumberFire’s probability model. They give Carolina a 63.8% chance to win Game 5 of this NHL Playoffs matchup.
