Devils vs. Hurricanes NHL Eastern Conference playoffs Game 2 odds: New Jersey expected to stick with rookie Akira Schmid in net
New Jersey Devils rookie goaltender Akira Schmid was historically good in Round 1 of the NHL's Eastern Conference playoffs after he took over for previous starter Vitek Vanecek. Schmid won four of his five outings vs. the Rangers, including a Game 7 shutout. However, Schmid struggled and was pulled in Game 1 of New Jersey's 5-1 loss at Carolina in the Eastern semifinals. Yet it appears that Schmid will remain the starter for Game 2 on Friday. The Hurricanes are -115 at Caesars Sportsbook.
Schmid allowed three goals on 11 shots Wednesday before being yanked by Devils coach Lindy Ruff for Vanecek, who stopped 10 of 11 shots. Carolina only had 23 total shots yet scored five times, the last on an empty net. New Jersey managed a paltry 18 shots.
"It had nothing to do with our goalie. I could've taken multiple players out," Ruff said after the game of pulling Schmid. "You look at the energy they came out with. They backed us into a corner right away. We didn't execute."
New Jersey also lost 5-1 on the road in the first round (and Game 2 by same score) against New York but won the series in seven. On the updated series line, Carolina is -170 and New Jersey is +150. It was Carolina's 15th all-time playoff win against the Devils franchise, one shy of the most against a single opponent in franchise history.
There are no goalie concerns for the Hurricanes. Coach Rod Brind'Amour opted to go with Frederik Andersen over Antti Raanta, even though the latter started all but one game of the first-round win over the Islanders. Andersen became the fifth goaltender in franchise history to win each of his first two career playoff games with the franchise. He has allowed two goals in 126 minutes of postseason play with the Hurricanes.
Carolina got Game 1 goals from Brett Pesce (his first of the playoffs), Seth Jarvis (third), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (first), Brady Skej (first) and Jesper Fast (third). It was Jarvis' sixth postseason goal of his NHL career. He's the third player in franchise history with six postseason goals before age 22, following Eric Staal (nine in 25 games) and Andrei Svechnikov (nine in 26 games).
The Devils were without forward Timo Meier, their big acquisition from San Jose at the trade deadline. for the opener. He suffered a high hit from Jacob Trouba iin the third period of Game 7 against the Rangers. Meier is day-to-day. He didn't have a point in the first round but notched 40 regular-season goals.
