Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds, Picks & Predictions - Game 4 05/27

In the lone game on the docket, the Carolina Hurricanes are on the road as they travel to take on the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Finals series Wednesday night and we have you covered with our Hurricanes vs. Canadiens prediction. Game 1 of the series went to the visitors as the Canadiens rolled to a 6-2 triumph Thursday night, drawing first blood in the series. Carolina rebounded with a 3-2 overtime win at home in Game 2 Saturday night to square the series. In Game 3, the Hurricanes again prevailed 3-2 in overtime, this time on the road, Monday night to take a 2-1 series edge.

Will Carolina take a stranglehold in the series or can Montreal square things up on home ice? Let’s break down this Canadiens vs. Hurricanes matchup.

Hurricanes Seek Third Straight Win

Carolina took a beating in Game 1 of the series, which marked their first postseason defeat after a pair of sweeps in the opening two rounds. The Hurricanes rebounded with overtime wins in Games 2 and 3 so they look to ring up a third straight win here.

In Game 3, Carolina turned up the offensive attack and found just enough firepower to come away with the victory. The Hurricanes owned a 16-5 advantage in shots in the opening period and skated off with a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Shayne Gostisbehere opened the scoring with his first goal of the postseason at the 8:24 mark. Mark Jankowski and Eric Robinson drew the assists on the marker. After Montreal tied the game, Taylor Hall gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 advantage with his fourth of the playoffs at 16:22. K’Andre Miller and Jackson Blake drew the assists. The second period saw Carolina own a 10-6 shot advantage but they gave up the lone goal of the period to tie the game at two at the second intermission.

In the third period, Carolina owned a 7-1 advantage in shots with neither side denting the twine. As a result, the game went to overtime. Carolina held a 6-1 advantage in shots in the extra session and bagged the winning goal. Andrei Svechnikov scored the winner with his second goal of the postseason at 14:06 of overtime. Seth Jarvis had the lone assist of the goal to give Carolina the victory. Frederik Andersen made 11 saves for the Hurricanes, who owned a 38-13 advantage in shots, in the win. Andersen (10-1-0, 1.56 GAA, .923 save percentage, two SO) is the likely starter between the pipes here.

Canadiens Hoping to Even Series

Montreal had momentum with their win in Game 1. The problem for the Canadiens in the postseason is maintaining success. The Canadiens led the Lightning 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in the first round, the Sabres 2-1 and 3-2 in the second round and Carolina 1-0 in this series. What did the Canadiens do in the next game each time? If you said they lost, give yourself a gold star.

In Game 3, Montreal didn’t generate a ton of chances and the sheer volume disparity proved too much to overcome. The Canadiens faced a 16-5 disadvantage in shots in the opening period and trailed 2-1 on the scoreboard at the first intermission. After giving up the game’s opening goal, Montreal tied the score with Mike Matheson’s second goal of the playoffs at 15:28. Ivan Demidov and Jake Evans drew the assists. They gave up the go-ahead goal less than a minute later. Montreal was outshot 10-6 in the second period but scored the lone goal to tie the game at two after 40 minutes of play. Lane Hutson tallied the equalizer with his third of the playoffs, on the power play, at 4:43. Cole Caufield and Jakub Dobes drew the assists on the goal.

In the third period, Montreal was outshot 7-1 with neither team scoring, sending the game to overtime. During the extra session, the Canadiens faced a 6-1 shot disadvantage and gave up the winning goal to end up with the defeat. Jakub Dobes made 35 saves for Montreal, who was outshot 38-13, in the loss. Dobes (9-8-0, 2.50 GAA, .910 save percentage) projects to be between the pipes here.

Stats to Know

Carolina is:

• 9th in the league in the postseason in scoring offense (2.91 goals per game)
• 1st in goals against (1.82 goals per game)
• 13th in power play success (11.1%)
• 2nd in penalty killing (93.5%)

Montreal is:

• 7th in the league in the postseason in scoring offense (3.12 goals per game)
• 6th in goals against (2.71)
• 5th in power play success (24.1%)
• 12th in penalty killing (77.4%)

Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Prediction

Montreal’s inability to build off success has haunted them all postseason long. The Canadiens may have escaped Tampa Bay and Buffalo in the first two rounds. This is a different ball of wax all together. Carolina didn’t set the world on fire in their two wins but they did what a good team does. Control the action, force the opposition into mistakes and generally make life difficult. Montreal is at home but it’s tough to have faith in a young team with no playoff experience to lean on. The Canadiens scrap but the Hurricanes’ experience carries them to a win here.

Our Prediction: Hurricanes ML (DraftKings, -142)

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