NJ Devils vs. Hurricanes odds, predictions for second round

The New Jersey Devils are in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2012 as they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes with Game 1 at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at PNC Bank Arena.

New Jersey dominated the Rangers in a 4-0 victory in Game 7 while Carolina defeated the New York Islanders in six games.

On Tipico Sportsbook, the Devils open the series as slight favorites at -133 while the Hurricanes are +110. New Jersey is +290 to win the East and +550 to lift the Stanley Cup.

Here are my picks and predictions for this second round matchup with odds powered by Tipico Sportsbook.

Offense: Advantage Devils

In the first round, this was basically dead even as the Devils scored 17 times in seven games while the Islanders were right behind them with 16 goals. New Jersey clearly has the better of the top-two lines and that was without trade deadline acquisition Timo Meier recording a single point on 27 shot attempts.

Already down Andrei Svechnikov, who suffered a torn ACL in mid-March, the Hurricanes will be without Teuvo Teravainen, who broke his left hand in Game 3 against the Islanders.

This matchup will feature speed-on-speed but now with two key injuries for Carolina, the advantage is clearly in favor of the Devils.

Special Teams/Goaltending: Advantage Devils

Since coming in Game 3, goalie Akira Schmid has been nothing short of sensational for New Jersey. The Devils rookie goaltender won four of five starts, posted a 1.38 goals-against-average and a .951 save percentage. The 22-year-old recorded two shutouts including in Game 7.

After starting goalie Antti Raanta through the first five games, the Hurricanes went back to veteran netminder Frederik Andersen in their Game 6 victory.

While both teams' power plays clicked at 20 percent or less in the first round, the Hurricanes had the best penalty kill unit in round one. Once Schmid took over, the Devils killed off 18 of the last 19 penalties against the Rangers.

These are two of the best units left in the playoffs but the slight advantage here goes to New Jersey with how well Schmid has played.

Series Winner: Devils (-133)

These are two evenly matched teams but I believe the Devils have the slight advantage both offensively and in between the pipes with the rise of Schmid. It will be a hard fought series with New Jersey coming out on top and advancing to its first Conference Finals in 11 years.

If you're looking for some value on Tipico Sportsbook outside of the -133 price, bet on the series going six games (+200) and the Devils covering the -1.5 series spread at +135.