Hurricanes Will End Series Tonight

Devils vs. Hurricanes, 7:00 ET

Despite a great run in the postseason, I've dropped the last two NHL plays that I've put out. The Panthers weren't able to get it done and now have to travel back to Toronto, giving the Maple Leafs a bit of life here. We have another series where the team that is up is looking to close out the series and doesn't want to have to travel again. The New Jersey Devils take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5.

This series, for the most part, has been absolutely dominated by Carolina. If you looked at totalities, you'd see that the Hurricanes have allowed 11 goals over four games, which is almost three per game. That's usually enough to win a few games, the only problem is that eight of those goals came in their one win within this series. The biggest issue is that the Devils have no answer whatsoever for the Hurricanes' offense. In this series, Carolina has scored no fewer than four goals in any game. It is hard to win games when you're constantly playing from behind no matter what sport you're in. Some teams do seem comfortable with being behind, but the Devils are not one of them. It is imperative that they get out to a strong start and put the Hurricanes on their heels for this game.

The Devils have their backs against the wall in Game 5. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

So, we know that three of the first four games were all Carolina. One game went the Devils' way, but that wasn't one that they really stopped the Hurricanes, they just found a way to outscore them. Unfortunately, I don't think there is much more that the Devils can do. At this point, the goalies for the New Jersey Devils are shook and don't look like they will be able to get hot. There is no answer defensively. The only way that Carolina loses the game is by making mental mistakes or having a sloppy defense. Now that they are at home they have a chance to close this out without needing to travel back to New Jersey so they have the motivation to get this done here.

Even in Game 3 when the Devils won, it wasn't something that was an overwhelming shift in the series. Once the Hurricanes destroyed them in Game 4, I felt like this series was over. I'll take the Hurricanes to win this game at -130. I really wouldn't be surprised if they scored another four or more goals either.

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