The month of March is usually reserved for focusing on college basketball, but that wasn’t the only focus on Sunday. The NHL season is still going on too, providing a great opportunity for sports bettors. As such, several big games on Sunday’s schedule opened the door for bookmakers pricing service operators to take advantage of.
Perhaps the most intriguing game of the day took place in Carolina as the Hurricanes were hosting the New York Rangers. These two teams could ultimately meet up in the NHL Playoffs, and that could lead to a pretty fun series.
This matchup on Sunday would have been the perfect time to launch your own online bookie site. PowerPayPerHead.com has all the tools necessary to get you going. The bookmakers pricing service is one of the biggest features you’ll find, It’s also important when looking to accept wagers on your own.
Rangers Upset Hurricanes
Sunday’s outcome was shocking as the Rangers went into Carolina and stunned the Hurricanes. Both teams were looking for two crucial points in the standings, and the Rangers were underdogs heading into this one.
New York and Carolina both failed to score in the first period, but it was all Rangers from then on. The visitors were able to score a goal in each of the next two periods. The defense continued to do its job as well.
Chris Kreider got the scoring going for the Rangers as he buried a shot in the second period. Frank Vatrano scored in the empty net in the third period to set the final score at 2-0.
Several NHL teams have slowed down the Hurricanes throughout the year. However, completely shutting them down is a very different story. What makes this performance even more impressive from New York is that this game was played in Carolina and the Hurricanes have been terrific on home ice.
Carolina was on a 14-game point streak on home ice. They’ve used their play at home to jump to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. If the Hurricanes would’ve picked up at least one point on Sunday, they would’ve tied a franchise record of 15 straight home games with a point.
This was also the fourth straight loss for the Hurricanes, their longest losing streak of the season. Carolina didn’t go down without a fight in this matchup. They were able to get 44 shots on goal in the loss.
Georgiev Shines In Rare Start over Shesterkin
The star of the game was no doubt goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. He stopped all 44 shots thrown at him to pick up the seventh shutout of his career. Georgiev has not seen much time for the Rangers of late. However, that might change if he continues to play as he did on Sunday.
The last road win for Georgiev came all the way back on January 8. This was just the second time that he played in the last five games. It was his first shutout since March 17, 2021, and 44 saves is quite the effort.
Igor Shesterkin is New York’s usual starter. He’s been playing at a Vezina-caliber pace all season. However, New York will be glad to know they’ve got depth in the system once the playoffs start.
If you were using your own bookie website using a bookmakers pricing service from PowerPayPerHead.com, you would have had the Hurricanes as a big betting favorite in this one. This was a disappointing loss for Carolina, but it was a terrific performance by the Rangers.
New York Still Needs More Offense
New York now has 85 points on the year after picking up two points in Carolina. However, this team is still looking to find more offense as the year goes along. The Rangers might be leading the Metropolitan Division if they were able to score more goals consistently.
The Rangers average 2.94 goals per game this season. Still, it’s going to take a better effort than that if they want to make a deep postseason run. New York is holding teams to just 2.5 goals per game, and that defense was on display on Sunday.
Artemi Panarin is the Rangers’ best offensive weapon. That’s been the case since the left winger arrived in New York. Panarin leads the team with 56 assists and 72 points on the year, and he continues to make life difficult for opposing defenses.
Kreider’s offensive spark was no surprise on Sunday. He leads the team with 41 goals. Kreider isn’t usually mentioned as one of the best goal-scorers in the NHL, but that’s been the case this season.
The special team’s play has been a huge key for the Rangers this season as well. They usually take advantage of opponents’ mistakes. New York scores on 26 percent of its power play.
They’ve also been terrific when killing off penalties of their own. New York has an 82 percent penalty kill. Shesterkin has been a major key in that area. He’s gone 30-8-3 this season between the pipes and that’s the biggest reason that Georgiev hasn’t played much.
If the Rangers were able to find some more offense ahead of the playoffs then they could be a team that could win the Eastern Conference.
Carolina Trying to Hang On
The Hurricanes still lead the Metropolitan Division with 88 points on the year, but that lead has started to shrink over the last week. Losing four straight games has allowed other Metropolitan Division teams to close the gap. While Carolina is still the favorite to win the Metro with most bookmakers pricing service operators, the lead has narrowed
Carolina has to start finding some offense over the next few weeks if they’re going to get some momentum heading into the postseason. The Hurricanes are winning games by an average of .9 goals per game, and they’ve been a frustrating team to face.
Sebastian Aho has been the best player for Carolina this season as he leads the team with 27 goals and 34 assists. What makes the Hurricanes such a tough team to deal with is the fact that they are loaded with offensive weapons up and down the roster.
Even though Carolina has been looking to win most of their games on the offensive end of the ice, they haven’t completely abandoned the defensive side of the ice. The Hurricanes are giving up less than 2.4 goals per game, and they kill off nearly 90 percent of their penalties.
Frederik Andersen might be the best goaltender in the NHL this season, aside from Shesterkin. Andersen has gone 30-10-2 in net this season. He’s giving up right at two goals per game, and that’s more than good enough to win with this offense.
There’s still some time for Carolina to turn things around before the postseason begins. Unfortunately, they’re definitely heading in the wrong direction at the worst possible time. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Hurricanes either as the Lightning is in Carolina on Tuesday night.
Eastern Conference is Loaded
Another popular betting option when it comes to the NHL is futures betting markets, and that’s another thing you can offer if you have your own bookie website. Again, using bookmaker’s pricing service tools from PowerPayPerHead.com, you will have all of the tools necessary to get things set up.
The race to win the Eastern Conference is going to be fun to follow as the playoffs heat up since there are so many great teams. Both Carolina and New York are going to be in that mix, but two teams from Florida appear to be leading the way.
The future betting odds with most bookmakers’ pricing service operators have the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers as co-betting favorites to win the Eastern Conference. Carolina and New York appear to be right behind them, but the Panthers and Lightning don’t appear to have any real flaws.
Tampa Bay has won consecutive Stanley Cup titles, and they still have the same basic roster as they’ve had over the last two years. It’s nearly impossible to eliminate the Lightning in the postseason as they just do everything so well.
Florida has a young roster that loves to play fast. They’ve been overwhelming opponents with their offense all season long. The Panthers still have to prove they know how to win in the postseason, but they are not going to be a fun team to deal with.
Looking Forward
There is still some time for the playoff races in the Eastern Conference to change over the final few weeks. Home ice advantage could eventually play a big role in the postseason. New York and Carolina are both trying to earn a top seed so the Lightning and Panthers are easier to deal with.
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