The Carolina Hurricanes became the first team to advance to the second round of this year’s NHL playoffs in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night. Sebastian Aho (above) scored 4:17 into the second overtime of Game 5 in Raleigh as the Canes eliminated the New Jersey Devils in the best-of-seven first round.
BetCarolina.com continues to provide topics of interest for North Carolina sports betting by using Hockey-Reference.com to see how teams that have won their first-round series 4-1 fare after that in recent seasons.
Outcome | Number of Times |
Lost in second round | 8 |
Lost in conference finals | 6 |
Lost Stanley Cup final | 2 |
Won Stanley Cup | 5 |
The stats above include teams from 2014 to 2024 that won their first-round series in five games. There were 21 teams who advanced by fitting these criteria.
Carolina will face either the Washington Capitals or Montreal Canadiens in the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Track Hurricanes Stanley Cup odds as the team aims to be king of the NHL for the second time, joining the 2005-06 champions.
For Carolina’s representation among the 21 teams since 2014 that won their first-round series in five games, look no farther than last year.
In the 2024 playoffs, the Canes ousted the New York Islanders 4-1. Carolina won the first three games of that series before dropping Game 4, 3-2 in double OT. But coach Rod Brind’Amour and company bounced back by winning 6-3 on April 30 to close out the Islanders.
Carolina lost to New York’s other team, the Rangers, in six games in the next round.
If the past is a useful trend for NHL betting in North Carolina, a hot start to the postseason (like Carolina has had) could indicate much greater things to come.
Five teams that advanced out of the first round in five games have gone on to win the Stanley Cup in the past 11 postseasons (we excluded the best-of-five qualifying round in 2020). Those champions were the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins, the 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning, the 2023 Vegas Golden Knights and last season’s Florida Panthers.
Of the 21 teams that won their first-round series in five games, 62% (or 13) went on to reach the conference finals and two of those reached the Stanley Cup final before losing. At NC sportsbook apps, that 62% chance of winning Round 2 would translate to -163 odds.
Sometimes two teams that dispatched their first playoff opponents 4-1 play each other in the next round. That would be the case if Washington closes out its series tonight at home and, of course, they can’t both have -163 odds to advance.
Home-ice advantage is up in the air for the Canes, who will have several days to rest before the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Carolina is the Stanley Cup favorite with Caesars North Carolina Sportsbook at +480 odds, the best line among a handful of operators that we surveyed on April 30.
Carolina was second in the Metropolitan Division in the regular season, behind the Capitals. If Washington, which leads its series 3-1, closes out Montreal, then the Capitals will host Games 1 and 2 with Carolina home for Games 3 and 4.
If the Habs rally to win the series, then Carolina would have Games 1 and 2 at home before the series would shift to Montreal.
This is all old hat to the Canes, who are in the second round for the fifth year in a row. They’re the only team in the league with that distinction; no other team has a current streak longer than three years (Florida and Edmonton can make it four by winning their current series).
BetCarolina.com will offer more Carolina Hurricanes betting insights as the NHL playoffs roll on.
USA Today photo by James Guillory
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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