New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/03/2023

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Venue:  PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Devils +100, Hurricanes -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Devils +100, Hurricanes -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Devils +100, Hurricanes -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

New Jersey Devils:  52-22-8 (2nd place, Metropolitan Division)

Carolina Hurricanes:  52-21-9 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

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New Jersey Devils:  6-4-0 last 10

Carolina Hurricanes:  6-4-0 last 10

The Devils are entering this game finishing the regular season with 112 points, a 52-22-8 record overall, and they were 28-9-4 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a win against the New York Rangers in their last game, winning that one at home 4-0. Erik Haula, Jesper Bratt, Michael McLeod, and Tomáš Tatar each scored 1 goal in that game. John Marino and Ondřej Palát each led the team in assists with 2 while Dougie Hamilton led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Akira Schmid was the starting goalie in that game and he recorded a shutout as he allowed 0 goals on 31 shots with 31 saves and a 1.000 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 291 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 226 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The Hurricanes are entering this game finishing the regular season with 113 points, a 52-21-9 record overall, and they were 28-10-3 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a win against the New York Islanders in their last game, winning that one on the road 2-1 in overtime. Sebastian Aho and Paul Stastny each scored 1 goal in that game. Brett Pesce and Derek Stepan each led the team in assists with 1 while Jordan Martinook led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Frederik Andersen was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 34 shots with 33 saves and a .971 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 266 goals this season averaging 3.2 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 213 goals against them allowing 2.6 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Hurricanes listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 1 of a 7-game series between the Devils and the Hurricanes for the 2nd round of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hurricanes are entering this game with plenty of rest after ending their series against the Islanders in 6 games with an OT win in New York in their last one. The Devils had to drag out their series 7 games as they just played the final game the other night but were able to come away with the series win and advance. Now The Devils go on the road, where they have been a really good team all year, to face the Hurricanes who have been a great home team all season and in the playoffs in recent years. As good as the Devils have been, this is still a team that had one of the biggest turnarounds in the NHL as they were one of the worst in the league last year. The Hurricanes have plenty of playoff experience as they have won many playoff series over the last few years and a lot of their series wins have come because of how well they play at home. The Devils aren't going to be able to rip open the Hurricanes the way they did with the Rangers in a few of those games as the Hurricanes are much better defensively but still have a really strong offense to lead the way. The Hurricanes will use their home advantage to get out to a series lead like they usually do and they have the experience to win this entire series over this fresh Devils team that has been overachieving this season. The best way to place a bet here is on the Hurricanes to win this game and take a 1-0 series lead.

Devils Hurricanes Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Wednesday, May 3, 2023 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Hurricanes 3 Devils 1.

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New Jersey Devils: 21-38 (-11.1 units) on the moneyline after 3 consecutive division games. 49-63 (-15.2 units) on the moneyline after playing a home game. 22-16 UNDER as a # 2 seed in the playoffs. 157-109 UNDER off an home win scoring 4 or more goals.

Carolina Hurricanes: 22-8 (+10.6 units) on the moneyline vs. division opponents. 20-5 (+11.4 units) on the moneyline after a close win by 1 goal in their previous game. 31-19 UNDER in a home game where the total is 5.5. 14-7 UNDER off a win against a division rival. 

New Jersey Devils:  J. Bernier (G) Out indefinitely - Hip.

Carolina Hurricanes:  J. Drury (C) Prob Wed - Upper Body. O. Kase (RW) Mid May - Concussion. T. Teravainen (LW) Mid May - Hand. A. Svechnikov (RW) out for season - Knee. M. Pacioretty (LW) out for season - Achilles. J. Gardiner (D) Out indefinitely - Hip.

“We believe in each other. We knew even last year didn’t go our way, lots of injuries, we have a good group here. We got a lot of good characters here. We’re a team that plays with a lot of speed and it’s hard to handle if you do that.” - Nico Hischier after their win against the Rangers in their game on Monday which ended the series 4-3, game 7 of that series.

“The third period was all in their end and we still had to scratch and claw just to get the one. And then obviously found a way in overtime.” - Rod Brind’Amour after his team’s win against the Islanders in their game on Friday which ended the series 4-2, game 6 of that series. 

LW Tatar, Tomas

C Hischier, Nico

RW Bratt, Jesper

LD Siegenthaler, Jonas

RD Hamilton, Dougie

G Schmid, Akira

LW Noesen, Stefan

C Aho, Sebastian

RW Jarvis, Seth

LD Slavin, Jaccob

RD Burns, Brent

G Andersen, Frederik

Points: J. Hughes (99)

Goals: J. Hughes (43)

Assists: J. Hughes (56)

GAA: A. Schmid (2.13)

Points: M. Necas (71)

Goals: S. Aho (36)

Assists: M. Necas (43)

GAA: A. Raanta (2.23)

Coaches:

New Jersey Devils: Lindy Ruff (3rd season)

Carolina Hurricanes: Rod Brind'Amour (5th season)