The Carolina Hurricanes are one victory away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years and the opportunity to win the NHL championship for the second time in franchise history. Standing in their way is a Montreal Canadiens club that has been stubborn in such circumstances but must defy long odds to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Eastern Conference Final. Faceoff is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday from the Lenovo Center.
The Hurricanes won a pair of 3-2 overtime games to offset a 6-2 loss in the opener before rolling to a 4-0 victory Wednesday to take command of the series. They are now on the brink of their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006, when they defeated Edmonton Oilers for their first and only NHL title.
The winner will face the Vegas Golden Knights, who pulled off a stunning 4-0 sweep of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. The NHL sportsbook odds were +3000 for this exact outcome.
Montreal is an even bigger underdog to overcome this series deficit. Although the Canadiens have twice survived elimination games this postseason, teams trailing 3-1 in the conference semifinals or finals are 1-72 in NHL history, the lone outlier coming from the 2000 New Jersey Devils against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Montreal has been held to 18 shots or fewer in each of the last three games, while Carolina surged to 44 shots on goal in Wednesday’s shutout. Even so, Montreal prevailed in the seventh game against the Tampa Bay Lighting and Buffalo Sabres to advance and is relying on its resilience to stay alive Friday night.
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“You’ve got to believe that you can actually do it,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis told the media. “To me, I don’t doubt that I believe we can do it. We’ll put our best foot forward for Game 5.”
Carolina is a -250 betting favorite, while Montreal is priced at +205 in the latest NHL odds for Hurricanes vs. Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The over/under for total goals scored is 5.5.
In addition to this NHL matchup, we’ll take a look at a late MLB showdown and look ahead to Saturday’s Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Here are the games to watch for Friday, May 29. All times Eastern.
NHL best bets, where to watch
Canadiens at Hurricanes
Time: 8 p.m. | Location: Raleigh, N.C.| TV: TNT | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick — Model: Canadiens +205
The SportsLine Projection Model offers a slight lean on the Over 5.5 goals, but its 10,000-game simulation sees major value on the underdog Canadiens to prevail in an elimination game for the third time this postseason.
The model’s data predicts a Montreal victory about 45% of the time, a stark contrast from the implied sportsbook odds of about 33%. Considering the massive plus-money overlay at +205, the model has released a top-rated pick on the Canadiens in Game 5.
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MLB best bets, where to watch
Phillies at Dodgers
Time: 10:15 p.m. | Location: Los Angeles | TV: Apple TV
SportsLine pick — Modal: Dodgers -120
The red-hot Dodgers are on a 12-2 run and riding a five-game winning streak as they host the Phillies (9-4 in their last 13) on Friday night to start a three-game weekend series, but a recent bite from the injury bug could be a concern. They lost a pair of players this week when both Enrique Hernandez (oblique) and Teoscar Hernandez (hamstring) went down, but the SportsLine Projection Model still sees value on the Dodgers at this razor-thin price of -120.
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler (4-0, 1.67 ERA) is 3-2 with a 4.35 ERA in seven career starts against the Dodgers, while Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski (6-2, 3.07) gave up five runs against the Phillies last season in his only career appearance against them. Even so, the model’s 10,000-game simulation forecasts Los Angeles winning this matchup 62% of the time, providing a value window against the implied sportsbook odds of about 55%.
Looking Ahead
Spurs at Thunder, NBA Western Conference Finals Game 7
Time: 8 p.m. Saturday | Location: Oklahoma City | TV: NBC | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick — Expert: Spurs +4.5 (Jeff Hochman)
This chaotic but entertaining series has come down to a decisive Game 7 between the NBA defending champion Thunder and the surging Spurs. Both clubs won their first road contest in this series, while the other four have been decided by blowouts from the home team, including San Antonio’s wire-to-wire 118-91 victory Thursday night in Game 6.
SportsLine analyst Jeff Hochman (5-1, +385, last six NBA picks) believes most basketball observers will support the home team in Game 7, but he’s taking a contrarian stance. He notes that NBA road underdogs have covered Game 7 at a nearly 70% clip in the past 20 years, and his own data suggests the contest should be lined as a pick ’em as opposed to Oklahoma City as a 4.5-point favorite. Hochman is picking San Antonio to win outright but also finds value in the taking the points.
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