Hurricanes vs. Rangers Game 6 NHL Picks: Potential Elimination Spot Set as Pick'em

The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers head to Game 6 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs second-round series on Saturday. We break it down with our top Hurricanes-Rangers picks as Carolina tries to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

The well-rested and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning await the Hurricanes if they're able to get their first road win of the 2021-22 Stanley Cup playoffs and advance to the Eastern Conference Final. Carolina is undefeated at home (7-0) but winless on the road (0-5) this postseason. New York has lost just one game at Madison Square Garden and that was in triple overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1.

The Hurricanes come off a 3-1 victory on home ice in Game 5, but the Rangers won Games 3 and 4 in New York by a combined score of 7-2.

Here are my picks and predictions for Saturday's NHL Game 6 matchup between the Hurricanes and Rangers (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Hurricanes vs. Rangers Game Info

Date/Time: Saturday, May 28, 8 p.m. ETTV: ESPNLocation: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Hurricanes vs. Rangers Odds

Hurricanes vs. Rangers Odds Analysis

Despite Game 6 being a pick'em with -110 moneyline odds for both teams across the betting market, the Hurricanes are still heavy favorites to win the series at all of our top-rated sportsbooks. DraftKings has equal -115 odds on Carolina winning in six or seven games.

The early market consensus has the public and sharps strongly aligned in backing the host Rangers. Their home prowess coupled with the Hurricanes' struggles on the road have seemingly made this an auto bet. It's the first time this series the line has been set as a pick'em, with the Rangers being slight home favorites in Games 3 and 4. Expect the line to slide in their favor as we get closer to puck drop.

The Over/Under was set at 5.5 for each of the first five games of this series but after all five cashed the Under, DraftKings and BetMGM each dropped the Game 6 line to a flat 5 but with the juice on the Over. FanDuel Sportsbook and Caesars have heavy vig on the Under with their line of 5.5.

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Hurricanes vs. Rangers Picks

Hurricanes (-110 via DraftKings)????Over 5.5 (+125 via Caesars)???60-minute line: Draw (+310 via Caesars)???

Hurricanes vs. Rangers Predictions

Hurricanes (-110)

The Hurricanes won 25 of 41 road games in the regular season but have lost all five road playoff games by a multi-goal margin. While the playoffs and a potential elimination game are different animals, Carolina won twice in New York in the regular season by scores of 4-2 and 4-3.

I'm backing the Hurricanes to put the pedal down and emerge victorious in their first chance to close out Round 2. Carolina holds sizable advantages in Corsi For percentage (54.98%) and expected goals percentage (55.90%) at all scores and venues at 5-on-5 in this series, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Over 5.5 (+125)

Carolina went 5-1-1 against the Over/Under with the Boston Bruins and New York went 7-0 to the Over with the Penguins in Round 1. However, the Hurricanes and Rangers combined for five total goals only once this series and they haven't topped that number.

With multiple books dropping the Game 6 line to a flat 5, I'll zig where the market zags. The Hurricanes lead all teams in the second round with 11.9 expected goals for at 5v5 in this series. The Rangers rank fourth with 9.39 expected goals for at full strength. Expect Carolina to lean on the offensive attack while trying to get through to the conference final with second-string goaltender Antti Raanta playing the biggest game of his career.

60-minute line: Draw (+310)

Despite the low scores and back-and-forth nature of this series, only Game 1 went to overtime. The Hurricanes won that one 2-1, and every other game in the series has been decided by at least a two-goal margin.

With the stakes raised in Game 6 and expecting Carolina's best road game of the series, the reward is well worth the risk with better than a 3-1 return on investment if the Rangers and Hurricanes are tied after 60 minutes. We're also getting excellent value via line shopping, as DraftKings is offering a more conservative +290 odds on the draw with the Rangers as slight +140 favorites on the three-way line.

Where to Bet on Hurricanes-Rangers Picks

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel SportsbookCaesars SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookPointsBetBetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Hurricanes-Rangers picks made on 5/27/2022 at 11:30 a.m. ET.