Avalanche vs Hurricanes Game Preview, Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions

Colorado is tied for the Western Conference lead with 18 road wins while Carolina has the second-best points percentage in the NHL and the best goals-against average on home ice.

Colorado (+400) has the best odds to win the Stanley Cup title while Carolina is tied for fourth at +1000.

Makar on a Major Role for Colorado

It would be hard to find a player in the NHL contributing more consistently on a nightly basis than Colorado defenseman Cale Makar.

Makar has assists in each of his last 13 games with seven multiple-point games during that stretch. He has also started to find the net with three goals in his last two contests.

Cale Makar’s 82-game pace:

32 goals, 67 assists, 99 points.

What an incredibly fun player to watch.

— Kevin Papetti (@KPapetti) March 10, 2022

Makar is third among NHL defensemen with 23 power-play points. His 21 goals are five more than any other defenseman and he also leads all defensemen with 65 points. His 42 even-strength points also top the league and are six more than the nearest challenger, who happens to be teammate Devon Toews.

Makar will look to continue that streak while putting an end to another trend as Colorado 1-2-1 in its last four games. It is the worst four-game stretch for Colorado since the Avalanche opened the season 1-3. Colorado had points in the last 10 games when Makar had a goal before losing 5-3 at New Jersey the last time out despite a goal and an assist from Makar.

The Las Vegas odds total has gone under in nine of the last 10 times Colorado visited Carolina.

Defense a Little Shorthanded for Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes relied on Tony DeAngelo for offense from the blue line following the departure of star defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

DeAngelo was one of the top reclamation projects in the league helping Carolina challenge for the Eastern Conference lead. However, DeAngelo hasn’t played since February 21 and was recently placed on injured reserve.

In the six games without DeAngelo, Carolina defensemen have no goals and eight assists after DeAngelo had 40 points in the 43 games he has played in.

The good news is that Carolina has converted on 33.3% of its power-play opportunities since DeAngelo was sidelined, which was one area where he was expected to be missed the most considering DeAngelo leads all Hurricanes in power-play time on ice.

Carolina has also played without fellow defenseman Brendan Smith since February 20. Carolina has gone 4-1-1 without two of its top six defensemen, which is a credit to the team’s depth.

Five of Carolina’s last six games went under the Las Vegas odds total.

Colorado Avalanche vs Carolina Hurricanes Head-to-Head

Carolina and Colorado haven’t met since 2020 when the visiting Avalanche won 3-2. The winning team in 10 of the last 11 games in the series scored three goals or less with the visiting team winning each of the last four meetings.

Only two of the last 12 games between the Avalanche and Hurricanes have topped the six-goal mark with it last happening with a 5-3 Colorado win on November 2, 2017.

Colorado has won five of the last eight meetings although Carolina is 3-2 in the last five.

Colorado Avalanche vs Carolina Hurricanes Game Information

• Game: Colorado Avalanche (41-12-5) at Carolina Hurricanes (39-12-5)
• Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Day/Time: Thursday, March 10, 7 p.m. ET
• Streaming: ESPN+

Colorado Avalanche vs Carolina Hurricanes Betting Lines

Colorado Avalanche vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction

Both teams have struggled offensively recently with Carolina scoring 11 goals in its last five games while Colorado has 20 goals in its last six.

The power play could be a key in this one as Colorado leads the league with 109 power-play opportunities and Carolina is second with 26 power-play goals.

Other both teams can light the lamp, don’t be surprised to see this go under the 6½ -goal total based on past games between the teams and recent results.

Pick: Under +6½

Pick: Carolina Hurricanes +1½ (-250)