Hurricanes, Wild Thrive in Nail-Biters

Minnesota’s Dean Evason (+700) is tied for second in the odds to win the Jack Adams Award as the top coach in the NHL. Carolina’s Rob Brind’Amour (+800) is fourth right behind Evason and Peter Laviolette of the Washington Capitals.

In the NHL playoff odds, Carolina is tied for fifth at +1200 in the Stanley Cup odds while Minnesota (+1400) is tied for seventh.

Game: Carolina Hurricanes (19-7-1) vs Minnesota Wild (19-8-1)

Location: Xcel Energy Center

Day/Time: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET

Television: ESPN+

Hurricanes vs Wild Betting Lines

Shorthanded Hurricanes Face Tough Road Test

The Carolina Hurricanes have been able to rely on Sebastian Aho to create chances for himself and his teammates almost from the time that he was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Aho twice averaged more than a point per game in his first five NHL seasons. He is producing goals and points at a career-best pace through the first 26 games of the season. However, the Hurricanes will need to wait for Aho to add to his total of 15 goals and 17 assists. He was a late scratch in Carolina’s loss to Vancouver on Sunday and is not expected to be cleared to play in Tuesday’s game against Minnesota.

Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and a member of the training staff have entered COVID protocol and will remain in Vancouver.

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 13, 2021

Carolina was held to one third-period goal by Martin Necas after host Vancouver took a 2-0 lead, snapping the team’s four-game winning streak. The Hurricanes were prevented from jumping over Washington and into first place in the Metropolitan Division. Now they travel to meet Minnesota, which leads the Western Conference with 39 points and is one of three teams in the Western Conference with at least 10 home wins.

Carolina leads the NHL with a 2.15 goals-against average and 26.96 shots allowed per game while its 88.0 penalty-kill percentage ranks second. The Hurricanes may have to lean on the rock-solid defensive structure against Minnesota since Carolina will be without Aho and high-scoring defenseman Tony DeAngelo. The good news is that standout defenseman Brett Pesce could return to the lineup.

The Hurricanes have won four of their last six road games, including the last five when listed by the scores and odds as the underdog.

Wild Happy to be Back Home

The Minnesota Wild just completed a 2-2 road trip that featured a little bit of everything.

There were dominating wins over Edmonton and San Jose by a combined score of 9-3 as Minnesota went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. Then came a defensive struggle that ended with the host Los Angeles Kings winning 2-1 on a Brendan Lemieux goal in the third period before the trip concluded with an offensive shootout against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Wild’s strong penalty killing was not evident in the 6-4 loss as Vegas scored on two of its four power plays, including Mark Stone’s game-winning goal early in the third period.

The return home could be just what Minnesota needs. Only the Colorado Avalanche score more goals per game at home than the 4.5 produced by Minnesota. The Wild are second only to Florida in points percentage at home.

Kirill Kaprizov is tied for sixth in the NHL with an average of 1.67 points per game at home. He has six goals and 14 assists in in 12 home games. Mats Zuccarello has added six goals and six assists in nine home games.

Minnesota lost its home opener but since that point, the only loss came to San Jose on Nov. 16. The Wild have won their last six home games .

Minnesota is listed by the Las Vegas odds as the favorite in its 13th consecutive home game, with Minnesota going 10-2 in those games.

Hurricanes vs Wild Final Betting Analysis

The Carolina Hurricanes have allowed an NHL-low 58 goals.

The total has gone under in four of Carolina’s last five games on the road while five of the team’s last seven games went under the total.

However, it should be noted that seven of the last nine Minnesota-Carolina games went over the total.

Pick: Minnesota Wild -150

Pick: Carolina Hurricanes +1½ (-190)