Whoever said that a 3-0 series deficit was a kiss of death forgot to tell the Carolina Hurricanes as such, with the Tar Heel State’s lone professional hockey club fighting their way off the ropes thanks to two straight wins over the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Those wins came in 4-3 and 4-1 intervals, with Monday’s three-goal victory in Manhattan setting the stage for a pivotal Game 6 in Raleigh on Thursday evening, with a shot at a do-or-die Game 7 on the line when the two sides meet in North Carolina’s capital city.
With the Hurricanes currently down 3-2 against the New York Rangers in the second round of the NHL Playoffs. Using Sports-Reference.com and our North Carolina sports betting mindset, BetCarolina.com wanted to see how often an NHL team wins a second-round playoff series when they’re down 3-2. Using the results of teams down 3-2 in the second round of the past 5 years of playoffs (2018-19-2022-23), we found that only 2 teams out of 12 teams won the series after being down 3-2.
NHL Teams Down 3-2
Can Canes Reverse the Sweep?
Right now, oddsmakers from Bet365 North Carolina list the ‘Canes as a -170 moneyline favorite in Thursday’s Game 6 against New York, with a 1.5-goal advantage when it comes to the spread in Raleigh and an over/under of 5.5.
As far as series lines are concerned, Carolina still is the underdog in the second round, with Bet365 listing the ‘Canes at +195 to win the next two games and pull of the upset over the top seeded Rangers, while the Rangers are listed at -240 to win one of the next two games.
As far as history is concerned, only 17% (two out of 12 teams) have come back to win a series over the last five years when facing a 3-2 series deficit, which speaks to the long odds that Rod Brind’Amour’s bunch face come Thursday night.
Regardless of what history tells us, Carolina will hit the ice at PNC Arena at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday with a shot at capturing a third straight victory, which would send shockwaves across the NHL while forcing New York to play off their collective heels in a potential do-or-die Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.
For now, ‘Canes fans will have to settle for 48 hours of anxiety as they wait for Carolina to take the ice for Game 6 with an eye on prolonging their season by at least one extra game in the springtime gauntlet that is the NHL Playoffs.
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USA photo by James Guillory.
