Devils vs. Hurricanes NHL Eastern Conference semifinals Game 5 odds: New Jersey likely back to Akira Schmid in net with season on the line

We have seen a lot of teams make goaltending changes in these playoffs, whether due to injury or performance, and the New Jersey Devils are expected to make another switch in net down 3-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Game 5 at Carolina Thursday night. The Hurricanes are -120 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2019.

Rookie Akira Schmid, who memorably shut out the Rangers in Game 7 of the first round, started the first two games for New Jersey in goal against Carolina but was pulled in each, allowing a combined seven goals on 36 shots. The Devils lost both in blowout fashion.

Vitek Vanecek, who was the primary starter during the regular season and relieved Schmid the first two games of this series, got the starting call for Game 3 and the Devils won 8-4 at home. However, Vanecek was yanked after allowing five goals on 17 shots in Tuesday's 6-1 home loss. Schmid saved 11 of 12 shots in relief.

Considering Vanecek already lost the top job once and is an ugly 1-3 with a 4.64 GAA and .825 SV in postseason play, it makes sense going back to Schmid, who is 4-3 with a 2.29 GAA and .921 save percentage in eight playoff outings. New Jersey has pulled its starter in every game this series. Not ideal.

Defenseman Ryan Graves has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury but might return Thursday. He had 26 points and a plus-34 rating in 78 regular-season games and one point and a minus-1 rating in nine playoff games.

Carolina has ascended to the +300 favored role at Caesars to win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history and will have home-ice advantage in the conference finals against either Florida or Toronto, with the Panthers leading that series 3-1. The Hurricanes are 5-0 all-time in a series when leading 3-1. New Jersey is 1-10 when trailing 3-1.

The Canes will stick with Frederik Andersen in net. He was pulled in the Game 3 loss but stopped 21 of 22 shots on Tuesday to improve to 4-0 with a 1.80 GAA and .930 save percentage in five playoff outings this year.

Carolina's Jordan Martinook has dominated this series with three goals and six assists after producing zero points in Round 1 vs. the Islanders. He is the third player in NHL history with nine or more points in a series after having zero in his team's previous round that postseason. It last happened in 1988. Martinook has four consecutive multi-point games, becoming the first player in franchise history to do so.

The Hurricanes have scored 21 goals against the Devils. Martinook has figured in almost half of them yet isn't even an option currently at Caesars to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He has almost two-thirds as many points in this series as he's had in four full seasons during his career (13, 13, 15, 15). Martinook was put on waivers by the team in October, even if only strictly for salary-cap reasons. He wasn't claimed. 

 Get more out of your SportsLine subscription! 

• Picks: NFL | NBA | CFB | CBB
• DFS: Lineup Optimizer | Picks
• Early Edge: YouTube | Apple Podcasts
• Newsletters: SportsLine Daily | Fantasy

Qualifying SportsLine members receive a 30-day free trial of Paramount+ premium. Sync your account right here.