Canadiens vs. Hurricanes Game 2: Prediction & Best Bets

Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes are set for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night at Lenovo Center in Raleigh.

The Canadiens took Game 1 in convincing fashion on Thursday night, winning by a score of 6-2 and handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the postseason.

Juraj Slafkovsky led the way for the victors, as he collected three points on a pair of goals and an assist and now Carolina are looking to even things up before the series shifts to Montreal for Game 3.

Canadiens vs. Hurricanes betting picks and predictions

Canadiens +1.5 (-150)

The Hurricanes have not had a fun time in the Eastern Conference Finals in recent years. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, Carolina is a measly 1-17 in Eastern Conference Finals games.

The franchise has been haunted by this particular round of the postseason and those woes continued with a lousy performance in Game 1.

Montreal was a problem from the start, as the Habs potted four goals in the 1st period and never looked back.

Frederik Andersen came back down to earth in net for Carolina, as he allowed five goals on just 21 shots that he faced. It's the first real adversity that Andersen has faced this postseason, so it will be interesting to see how he responds in Game 2.

Montreal's Game 1 win continued its recent dominance over Carolina. The Canadiens are now 4-0 against the Hurricanes this season and those four wins have all come by multiple goals.

More specifically, Montreal has won those contests by an overall score of 21-10, with an average margin of victory of 2.75 goals per game. That should give them plenty of confidence entering Game 2 on the road.

With the way the Hurricanes have performed in the Eastern Conference Finals over the last two decades, as well as their woes against the Canadiens this season, the Hurricanes are not a team I want to be backing right now.

Back Montreal +1.5 on the puck line and consider a small wager on the Montreal moneyline with odds of +175.

Under 6.0 (-115)

The Canadiens scored more goals in Game 1 (6) than the Senators and Flyers could muster up in their respective series against the Hurricanes this postseason (5).

However, as rough as that Game 1 performance was for Carolina, they should be much better defensively in Game 2.

It's no secret that Rod Brind’Amour has instilled a defense-first mentality in Carolina and that has resulted in the Hurricanes playing a stringy, physical, and solid-structured style of hockey.

During the regular season, Carolina ranked 6th in the NHL, allowing just 2.88 goals per game, and so far this postseason they lead all playoff teams by allowing a measly 1.78 goals per game.

With that in mind, it would be a bit surprising to see Carolina lacking so much defensively in back-to-back games. 

Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes continues to impress, as he now owns a .911 save percentage to go along with a 2.48 goals-against average in the postseason.

He's allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his 15 postseason starts and has not been fazed by road environments. After turning aside 26 of the 28 shots he faced in Game 1, he should be able to keep the momentum rolling into Game 2.

With a total of 6.0, look to the under.

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Canadiens vs. Hurricanes odds

Montreal Canadiens	+175
Carolina Hurricanes	-210
Puck Line	CAR Hurricanes -1.5
Total	O/U 6.0

Canadiens vs. Hurricanes player props

Anytime goalscorer

Cole Caufield (MTL Canadiens)	+190
Andrei Svechnikov (CAR Hurricanes)	+190
Seth Jarvis (CAR Hurricanes)	+190
Logan Stankoven (CAR Hurricanes)	+210
Sebastian Antero Aho (CAR Hurricanes)	+220
Nikolaj Ehlers (CAR Hurricanes)	+220

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.