The Central Division series between the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes heads back to Raliegh, North Carolina for Game 5.
Despite winning back-to-back double-overtime games over the Hurricanes, oddsmakers have installed the Preds as large underdogs for the Tuesday night clash.
Can a heavily-favored Carolina team get back on track at home, where it won the first two games of this series? Find out with our best free NHL betting picks and predictions for Predators vs. Hurricanes on May 25.
Predators vs Hurricanes game info
• Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
• Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2021
• Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: SN360, CNBC, BS-SO
Predators vs Hurricanes odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NHL Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonCarolina opened around -190 on the moneyline and has climbed as high as -216, depending on the operator. According to FanDuel sportsbooks, the Hurricanes are attracting 84 percent of moneyline tickets which has made up 90 percent of the moneyline handle. Carolina -1.5 is also pulling in 56 percent of bets and money on the puckline. The total hit the board at 5.5 (Under -130) and that vig is up to -145 despite 68 percent of total wagers landing on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gamePredators vs Hurricanes series odds
Predators: +215
Hurricanes: -260
Predators vs Hurricanes betting preview
Injuries
Predators: Viktor Arvidsson RW (Questionable), Mark Borowiecki D (Out).
Hurricanes: Jaccob Slavin D (Questionable), Cedric Paquette C (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The home team is 10-1 in the last 11 head-to-head meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Predators vs. Hurricanes.
Moneyline pick
The Predators came into this series as massive dogs and then promptly went down 2-0, including getting blanked in a 3-0 Game 2 loss. The series looked over fast. But Nashville responded with two consecutive overtime wins and now has a chance to take a 3-2 lead over the Hurricanes, who are still locked in as a -260 favorite to win this series.
The Predators' offense finally showed up at home, putting nine pucks in the net after scoring two goals through the first two games of the series. That complemented some outstanding goaltending by Juuse Saros, who made over 100 saves in the two victories, including an outrageous 61 in Game 4.
Not that we're expecting more 50-plus save games out of Saros, but him continuing to play at a high level is more believable than the Preds notching 4.5 goals per game going forward. Saros was great during the regular season, finishing in the Top 5 in save percentage and Top 10 in goals against average, while Nashville's offense ranked 21st in goals per game at 2.70.
But as good as Saros was during the regular season — and has been in the last two games of this series — Hurricanes netminder Alex Nedeljkovic was even better and has one shutout already this series. Even if the Hurricanes' edge in net is slight, they have the better offense and have been a force at home (20-3-5 during the regular season and won both playoff games at PNC Arena). Including Games 1 and 2, Carolina has won all six games at home versus the Preds this season.
Carolina has some of the best possession metrics out of any team in the playoffs and has dominated Nashville in that regard during this series. The 'Canes are simply the better team and betting on Carolina to lose at home is not worth it, even with the Preds winning two in a row and sitting as a +165 underdog. Oddsmakers and the public are backing that logic, too, which is why Carolina remains a massive -185 favorite after opening at -189.
We think Carolina can buck the overtime trend and get this done in regulation, so for better value are recommending the 'Canes on the 3-way moneyline.
PREDICTION: Carolina 3-way ML (-115)
Over/Under pick
You might be quick to jump on the Over with three of the four games going above the O/U total but there's good reason to think twice.
We've mentioned how good both goalies are and that's certainly part of the reason, but so is Nashville's offense.
The Predators head back to Carolina where they only scored twice to begin this series and five times over four regular-season games. PNC Arena has been a nightmare for them and we're not expecting that to change for Game 5. While Nashville's offense improved as the season went on, it still ranked 20th in expected goals for and the Hurricanes boast three lines this postseason with a higher expected goals for mark (according to Money Puck) than the Preds' top unit of Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Matt Duchene.
Both teams were among the best in the regular season at preventing high-danger chances from turning into goals, and Nedeljkovic led the NHL in both goals against average (1.90) and save percentage (.932). Like the rest of his team, he was even better at home and has been no slouch in the playoffs, either, sporting a better GAA than Saros and a nearly identical SV%.
Carolina has a strong offense, led during the regular season and playoffs by Sebastian Aho but this feels like a game that's setting up for Carolina to do most, if not all, of the heavy lifting on the offensive end. We like the Hurricanes to win a low-scoring contest in regulation.
PREDICTION: Under 5.5 (-130)
Predators vs Hurricanes betting card
- Carolina 3-way ML (-115)
- Under 5.5 (-130)
Picks made on 5/24/2021 at 6:56 p.m. ET
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