The New York Rangers, leading the series 3-0, are set to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the NHL Playoffs East Second Round. The match will take place at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will be aired on TNT, truTV, Max, CBC, SportsNet, and TVAS at 7 p.m. ET today.
The Rangers are one win away from sweeping the series. The Hurricanes, despite losing the first three games by a single goal and pushing the last two into overtime, are on the brink of elimination.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes: Game preview
The New York Rangers have shown impressive form this playoff season, with each of their last two games going into overtime. They've scored 11 goals in the series while conceding 8, with just 2 in Game 3. They have won all seven of their playoff games played this season.
In the last game, despite being down 1-0 at the end of the first period, they managed to score in the second and third periods, pushing the game into overtime. Artemi Panarin's overtime goal at 1:43 clinched a 3-2 victory for the Rangers over the Hurricanes.
The Rangers average 3.71 goals per game, have a power play efficiency of 34.5%, and allow 2.14 goals with a penalty kill success rate of 93.8%.
Vincent Trocheck leads the Rangers with 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points, and 22 shots on goal, while Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin have each contributed 4 goals and 4 assists. Goalie Igor Shesterkin boasts a 7-0-0 record, a 2.01 GAA, a .935 SV%, and has allowed 15 goals on 230 shots.
On the other hand, the Carolina Hurricanes are facing elimination, needing four consecutive wins to advance in the playoffs, despite their offense scoring eight goals in the last three games.
They average 3.38 goals per game, have a power play success rate of 16.7%, and concede 2.88 goals per game with a penalty kill success rate of 70.8%.
Seth Jarvis and Jake Guentzel have each added 4 goals, 4 assists, and 8 points. Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas, Teuvo Teravainen, Evgeni Kuznetsov, Stefan Noesen, and Dmitry Orlov have each scored two goals and together have contributed 23 assists.
In goal, Pytor Kochetkov, with a 0-1-0 record, a 2.96 GAA, and a .880 SV%, saved 22 of the 25 shots he faced, allowing 3 goals in the last game. Frederik Andersen has a 4-3-0 record, a 2.58 GAA, and a .899 SV%, having allowed 20 goals on 198 shots.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes: Injury Report
Jesper Fast and Brett Pesce of the Hurricanes will be sidelined for the rest of the season due to upper-body and lower-body injuries respectively.
On the Rangers' side, Blake Wheeler will also be out for the season due to a lower-body injury.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes: Head-to-head
The New York Rangers have a 7-6-0 all-time playoff record against the Hurricanes. In terms of faceoffs, the Rangers have a success rate of 50.1%, compared to the Hurricanes' success rate of 52.3%.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes: Spread
The Rangers, being 1.5 goal underdogs against the Hurricanes, have odds of -196 to cover the spread. On the other hand, the Hurricanes are at +162.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes: Over/Under
The over/under for Game 4 stands at 5.5 goals, with the odds for the over at -112 and the under at -108.
New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes: Series odds and score predictions
Carolin, being a -161 favorite, has a 59.8% probability of winning the game. On the other hand, New York, as a +134 underdog on the road, has a 44.4% chance of winning tonight.
Score Prediction: Rangers 5 - 3 Hurricanes