Bounce-Back Time for Hurricanes?
While Carolina is trying to hold onto first place in the Metropolitan Division, the Detroit Red Wings are on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention heading into their second meeting of the season on Thursday.
The Hurricanes dropped back-to-back games after being shut out by the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 despite holding the Lightning to just 21 shots on goal. Detroit is coming off a 7-4 win over Pittsburgh.
Eighteen of Detroit’s 32 wins have come at home. Carolina is tied with New Jersey for the fewest regulation losses on the road this season, so keep that in mind when making NHL picks.
When looking at some of the NHL news, Wingers Stefan Noesen and Jesse Puljujarvi are questionable for Carolina. Forward Ondrej Kase, goalie Antti Raanta and defenseman Jake Gardiner are out indefinitely. The biggest injury blow was the season-ending knee injury suffered by forward Andrei Svechnikov.
For Detroit, forward Alex Chiasson is questionable and goalie Ville Husso is out. Forwards Robby Fabbri, Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina are out for the season.
According to the NHL odds, the Hurricanes (+950) are tied for third in the odds to win the Stanley Cup title. Detroit is well back at +50000 in the championship odds.
Delivering in the Clutch
Sebastian Aho is doing everything he can to keep Carolina in first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Not only does Aho lead Carolina with eight goals in the 15 games played in March, but three of those have also been game-winning tallies.
Following Carolina’s last two regulation losses, Aho has four goals and an assist and recorded the game-winning goal in the victories against Philadelphia (scoring in overtime) and Toronto.
Aho has matched his career-high with nine game-winning goals this season and only the Edmonton duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have more this season.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in four of Carolina’s last five games against teams from the Atlantic Division.
In Need of a Helping Hand
It is not a good sign that with nine games left in the season, captain Dylan Larkin is the only Detroit player with more than 50 points.
Larkin had a goal and two assists in Detroit’s win over Pittsburgh the last time out. Detroit is 2-14 in the last 16 games when Larkin is held without either a goal or an assist.
The Red Wings have scored two goals or less (not counting a goal credited for winning a shootout) in 11 of the last 16 games with Detroit going 1-10 in those games.
There could be some good news as veteran forward David Perron, who had no goals in his previous nine games, had three of them in Tuesday’s win over Pittsburgh.
A @budlight celly fit for a hat trick! 🎩 pic.twitter.com/9Nr6kvbR33
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 29, 2023
The NHL betting lines total has gone over in six of the Red Wings’ last seven home games.
Hurricanes vs Red Wings Game Injuries
Hurricanes vs Red Wings Head-to-Head
The Hurricanes and Red Wings have split the last six games with the Red Wings scoring 14 goals and the Hurricanes 13 during that stretch.
Carolina won the first matchup this season 1-0 as Brady Skjei had an early power-play goal and Pyotr Kochetkov had 27 saves. The teams will also play on Apr. 11.
Four of the last six meetings finished under the total.
Hurricanes vs Red Wings Game Information
- Game: Carolina Hurricanes (47-19-7) vs Red Wings (32-32-9)
- Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
- Day/Time: Thursday, March 30, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Hurricanes vs Red Wings Live stream: NHL.TV
Hurricanes vs Red Wings Betting Lines
Hurricanes vs Red Wings Picks and Prediction
Expect Carolina to be ready to go after being shut out for the fifth time. Playing a wild-card team would likely be more agreeable than facing either the New Jersey Devils or New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. That is what would happen if Carolina fails to win the division.
Detroit is pretty much in a spoiler role. The hope is that some of the offensive firepower that was displayed against Pittsburgh will show up against the Hurricanes.
Carolina has covered just 15 of its 35 road games. Detroit is a rather mediocre 19-18 against the spread at home.
The Hurricanes are 42-20-7 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Detroit is 22-31-4 as the underdog.
The Carolina Hurricanes are listed at -220 in our Las Vegas NHL odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Hurricanes, you have a chance to win $45. Detroit is +180, offering a chance to win $180 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Carolina Hurricanes a 68.75% chance to win, with the Detroit Red Wings at 35.71%.