The Carolina Hurricanes are a big happening for North Carolina sports betting right now and they can clinch advancement in the playoffs on Tuesday.
The Canes lead their best-of-seven series against the New Jersey Devils 3-1 and can close out the first-round series with a win in Game 5 at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
What does history tell us about Carolina in this situation – and what are larger trends for teams leading 3-1 in an NHL playoff series? Here are the stats:
Year, Round, Opponent | Game 5 result | Series result |
2002 East final, Maple Leafs | Lost 1-0 | Won in 6 |
2006 East semifinal, Devils | Won 4-1 | Won in 5 |
2006 Stanley Cup final, Oilers | Lost 4-3 | Won in 7 |
2009 East semifinal, Bruins | Lost 4-0 | Won in 7 |
2023 first round, Islanders | Lost 3-2 | Won in 6 |
2023 East semifinal, Devils | Won 3-2 | Won in 5 |
2024 first round, Islanders | Won 6-3 | Won in 5 |
This data is according to Champs or Chumps website. Turn to BetCarolina.com for the best North Carolina sportsbook promos going today.
The Hurricanes are a rare franchise that has never squandered a 3-1 playoff series lead, nor have they ever overturned a 3-1 series deficit to advance.
In seven previous opportunities to close out a series with a 3-1 lead, Carolina has won Game 5 three times, including last year’s first-round series against the New York islanders. The other two times came against the same opponent that coach Rod Brind’Amour and company are facing now, New Jersey.
Going into Game 5, Carolina Hurricanes betting will lean heavily toward a closeout, especially at home. But history shows that teams on the brink of elimination tend to be stubborn about leaving the playoff scene.
The Canes have been on the other end of this scenario as well. Including one series in 1988 when the franchise was in Hartford, the team has stayed alive with a Game 5 victory three times in six attempts when they trailed 3-1. Each time, the opposing team closed out the series in Game 6.
Even if Carolina loses Game 5, history is very much on the team’s side to win the series.
According to ChampsorChumps.us, there have been 347 times since 1919 that a team led a best-of-seven series 3-1. Only 32 of those teams squandered that lead, meaning teams ahead by that margin after four games have clinched the series 90.8% of the time.
But closing it out in the fifth game has been another story. The team leading has ended the series in Game 5 slightly more often than not, 55% of the time (191 times, compared to 156 times when the trailing team forced Game 6).
Twice in their history, including the 2006 Stanley Cup final against the Edmonton Oilers, the Canes dropped both Game 5 and Game 6, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 (which Carolina won both times).
As of Monday afternoon, Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup odds tilted in their favor, not only to eliminate New Jersey but to go much further. They are the title favorite, with odds between +400 and +550 depending on the operator (as of April 28).
But Carolina can’t think too far ahead, especially with questions about the health of starting goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Andersen left Sunday’s Game 4 victory after a hit from Devils forward Tino Meier in the second period. According to reports, the Hurricanes did not have an update on Andersen as of early Monday afternoon. If he can’t play, backup Pyotr Kochetkov will be between the pipes to try to close out New Jersey.
Despite that uncertainty, Caesars North Carolina Sportsbook had Carolina as a +550 favorite to win the Stanley Cup (the best price among a handful of operators that we surveyed) and a -7000 favorite to win this series. Caesars had the Devils at +1800 odds to make history as the first team to force Carolina to cough up a 3-1 series lead.
USA Today photo by Ed Mulholland
Author
Jim Tomlin has more than 30 years of experience at such publications as the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition. He now lends his expertise in sports, betting and the intersection of those two industries to BetCarolina.com, among other sites.
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