Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins, Game 7
The Carolina Hurricanes had the East top-seeded Bruins on the mat, down 3-1 with two games to finish them off. Instead? Now it’s a Game 7 back in Boston in which it seems hard to imagine the Bruins not winning.
And indeed, the B’s are big -210 money line favorites on WagerWeb.com to advance to the East Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But that same Pens team showed that being home for Game 7 is not guarantee, as Pittsburgh crushed the Capitals in D.C. on Wednesday night.
Still, home teams are 79-46 all-time in the NHL in Game 7s.
That Carolina is even to a seventh game is a bit surprising considering two key players, Erik Cole and Ray Whitney, have struggled this series.
Cole has just two assists through 13 playoff games after collecting 15 points in 17 games after returning to Carolina at the trade deadline. Ray Whitney has been held to just one point, an assist, in the six games against Boston. He had three goals and seven points in seven games in the first round against the Devils and averaged nearly a point-per-game in the regular season. No wonder the Canes have scored just two total goals in the past two games.
The Hurricanes simply need Eric Staal to light the lamp. He had the winner in Game 7 of Round 1 against the Devils, and has nine playoff goals — four against the Bruins. The Canes are 7-0 in playoff games when he scores.
Bruins center Marc Savard, injured at the start of the third period Tuesday night in Carolina, skated for a few minutes in Thursday morning’s practice and was proclaimed ready to go by Boston coach Claude Julien. He should take his place back on the No. 1 line. However, defenseman Andrew Ference, who was injured in Game 3, is not yet ready to return.
If Boston wins tonight, it breaks a major team curse. The Bruins are 0 for 20 all-time in series in which their opponents held a 3-1 lead. But they never made it to a seventh game in the first 19 and won only one game in 18 of them.
NHL Betting at WagerWeb.com
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
