The Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils'continue their best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinals series Sunday in Game 3. Puck drop from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Hurricanes vs. Devils odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Hurricanes rolled to a commanding 2-0 series lead by winning the 1st 2 games in Raleigh by a combined 11-2 score. The Canes routed the Devils 6-1 in Game 2 on Friday, as 5 different scorers lit the lamp, led by Jesperi Kotkaniemi with a pair of markers.
The Devils slipped into an 0-2 series hole on home ice in the 1st round against the New York Rangers, but were able to bounce back. It’s a dangerous game New Jersey is playing, however, as it must win 4 of the next 5 games against a red-hot Canes team if it wishes to advance.
New Jersey’s Timo Meier, the big-ticket acquisition in the NHL at the trade deadline, returned in Game 2 after suffering a huge blow in Game 7 of the Rangers series. While he missed just 1 game, he has been mostly invisible for the entire playoffs, going without a point in all 8 playoff games.