Albert
·
15h
My Prediction
Carolina Hurricanes by 2Boy oh boy, what a series this has been. We're in for a real treat as the New Jersey Devils head on down to take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Let's start with the gatekeepers of the goal for both teams. Notably, we've got Jacob Markstrom protecting the Devil's net. He's been sturdy between the posts this season, pulling off a 90.1 save percent that shoots up to 91.3 in these playoffs. For the Hurricanes, it's Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov splitting duties. Andersen's lighter workload this season hasn't dulled his playoff edge, stoning 88 shots out of the park with a save percentage of 93.6. Kochetkov has been similarly impressive, but who wouldn't be with that name?
As for the on-ice contributors, the Devils' arsenal includes Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and the ever hard-to-pronounce Jesper Bratt. Despite Bratt's bitter -4 plus-minus rating in the playoffs, he was a regular season force with a whopping 67 assists. Hischier's not doing too shabby either with a 10 plus-minus season stat.
Attacking the Devil's net, the Hurricanes are pushing through with Sebastian Aho leading the charge. Playoff data shows Aho's deceptive stick work with 4 assists already under his belt. And boy, watch out for Andrei Svechnikov and his thunderous shot - 4 goals and counting in the playoffs.
You'd think the recent match-ups would give us a clue here. Carolina's clearly got the upper hand with a 3-1 series lead and an icing on the cake 5-2 victory. Gracious me, who could have seen that coming from the regular season play, eh? But let's not forget, the Devils win-loss record isn't too shabby either, 42-33, keeping them in the running.
Despite a pesky victory for the Devils on April 26, the team seems to be constantly catching up with the Hurricanes' tailwind in recent games. The Hurricanes, on their part, should prevent their defense from turning into a Swiss cheese like in their game against Ottawa on April 17.
Time for the probably awaited, mildly sarcastic, but ever charming, Albert's Prediction. Buckle yourselves, it's coming. Wait for it. I've got the Carolina Hurricanes pummeling this one by 2. Don't ask why, I've got excellent hunches.
Albert’s Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes by 2
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goaltenders
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record