by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 6 -- Hurricanes lead 3-2
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Where to watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Bruins -130, Hurricanes +110
BetMGM: Bruins -135, Hurricanes +110
Caesars: Bruins -130, Hurricanes +110
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Bruins - Hurricanes preview and analysis
A series is never truly on until a team wins on the road. And for what it’s worth, if we’re going to stay on this same trajectory, we should throw flowers to the Carolina Hurricanes for a job well done eventually.
With both teams entering Game 6 of this first-round series that has been about as wild as one could imagine, the Canes are one win away from moving on to Round 2 and exorcising the Bruins demons of their past. But again, the biggest problem is the road team has yet to win in this series, and I have a hard time thinking the Bruins will finally let up at home in a win-or-go-home situation.
The Hurricanes took a 3-2 series lead on Tuesday with a 5-1 win at home in Game 5, another dominant effort on offense and in goal for Carolina. The Canes jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind two goals from Seth Jarvis, and Antti Raanta made 34 saves for Carolina.
"That's what goaltending does," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "That team is going to generate opportunities and certainly did, and [Raanta] was good."
Raanta returned in Game 4 after an injury knocked him out for the majority of Game 2 and all of Game 3. While Pyotr Kochetkov filled in admirably, the Hurricanes brought in Raanta to be that needed stopgap should anything happen to Freddie Andersen. As a result, Andersen is likely not back for the rest of this series and the Hurricanes are close to advancing without their Vezina-caliber goalie.
And while it wasn’t the big names coming through offensively in Game 5, Jarvis can soon become one of those names with another performance like that.
"You love seeing that from a young kid that comes in and earns his way in the League and earns his way up the chart in every aspect of the game," Brind'Amour said. "I can't say enough good things about him."
Jeremy Swayman got the start after two strong outings at home, but completely fell apart on the road with 33 saves while allowing those five goals.
"[Swayman] had a bit of tough luck," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "He gave us a chance after that. There was a stretch there we weren't very good in front of him. I'm certainly not putting this on Jeremy. We need to finish a little better when we get our opportunities."
Connor Clifton scored the lone goal for Boston, a far cry from Brad Marchand dominating at home to even the series. Now, the Bruins go home and need another dominant performance in order to extend the series.
"A lot of what-ifs in the game. It doesn't matter," Marchand said. "All that matters is we let this one go. Whether you win or lose, you've got to have the same recipe. You've got to let it go. It's all about the next one now."
Prediction
If you’ve believed in the hotter team during this series, you’ve been snakebitten pretty badly. I think that if you’re a team leading in the series in a close-out game, you’d like to think the road team will finally prevail, and I’d take a chance on it knowing the Canes are the underdogs. Hurricanes win 4-2
Betting trends
Bruins are 17-5 after two straight overs this season.
Bruins are 16-12 off a home win this season, 43-27 the past three seasons.
Hurricanes are 66-41 the past three seasons off an over.
Hurricanes are 26-16 after playing a road game this season.
Projected lines
Hurricanes:
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Max Domi -- Vincent Trocheck -- Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter -- Derek Stepan -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas
Ian Cole -- Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith -- Ethan Bear
Antti Raanta
Bruins:
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall -- Erik Haula -- David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic -- Charlie Coyle -- Craig Smith
Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- Curtis Lazar
Hampus Lindholm -- Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
