Finally, after months of waiting, meaningful hockey is back. We won’t have to wait long either, as the Rangers and Hurricanes open the playoffs during breakfast for those of us in the Pacific time zone. There were 10 exhibition games over the last 3 days, and every single one of them was an under. Will the streak get to 11? I’m betting on it. NHL coaches are traditionally a conservative lot. In a best of 3 series, no one will want to fall behind. Reports out of practices confirm this. Teams are spending lots of time on defensive zone coverage, not wanting to fall behind early. Look for both teams to play tentatively early on, unless they get a power play. Ranger rookie sensation Igor Shesterkin also looks to continue his hot play, winning 10 of his last 12 starts before the pause. He looks to build off a solid performance in the exhibition game. Carolina is also a strong defensive team, coming off a huge playoff run last season. I don’t know who wins, but I do know it will be fun to see a hard hitting, low scoring game.
The Pick: Under 6 (-120)
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