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The Ottawa Senators will look to even their opening-round series with the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 at Lenovo Center on Monday, April 20.
My top Senators vs. Hurricanes predictions and NHL picks are calling for Carolina to squeak out another win while Frederik Andersen turns in another solid showing in the crease.
The Ottawa Senators aren’t going to be held to just nine shots through two periods again this series. Even with the horrible start, the Sens peppered Carolina Hurricanes veteran Frederik Andersen with 13 shots in the third period to finish with 22 total.
Carolina is the best there is at limiting shots, but Ottawa finished ninth in shots per game (28.9) while ranking third in Corsi for percentage at 5-on-5.
I’m anticipating an early push from the Sens in Game 2, with added emphasis on putting pucks on net and testing Andersen after the slow start in Game 1.
The Hurricanes have loaded up their top line with Sebastian Aho centering Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, and the trio won the expected goals battle at 5-on-5 during the series opener with a 72.9% mark.
Svechnikov was particularly dangerous with six shots on 10 attempts, and Aho was on the ice for 1.98 expected goals after putting up a high-end 3.1 points per 60 minutes during the regular season.
As noted, Svechnikov was a force in the opener and finished with a game-high 1.54 individual expected goals.
With the Carolina top line piling up chances at 5-on-5, and Svechnikov a primary shooter on the No. 1 power-play unit, the underrated Russian should have plenty of quality chances again tonight with Ottawa taking the eighth-most minor penalties at 5-on-5 during the regular season, and five more during Game 1.
Puck Line: Senators +1.5 (-200) | Hurricanes -1.5 (-165)
The Hurricanes have won 17 of their last 20 home games (+9.70 Units / 25% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Senators vs. Hurricanes.
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