Hurricanes vs. Blues Odds
| Hurricanes Odds | -140 |
| Blues Odds | +115 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-110/-110) |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
Two teams eyeing the playoffs will battle it out in St. Louis where the Blues host the Carolina Hurricanes. It’ll be the final time these teams meet, as the Canes were victorious 3-2 back in November. The visiting Hurricanes come in as the slight favorite at -125, while the hometown Blues are a +105 underdog.
The Hurricanes haven’t played their best hockey, going 5-3-2 in their last 10, but they can withstand it until playoff time. They have the second-best record in the East, best in the Metro Division.
St. Louis isn’t playing great hockey either, but their leash is much shorter. If they keep losing, they may lose their playoff spot. They’re 3-4-3 in their last 10 games and need a win to pull away from the rest.
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is among the elites in the league. Coach Rod Brind’Amour always gets the best out of his players. Sebastian Aho is averaging over a point per game, while Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, and Vinny Trocheck are all having big seasons. They will be without grinder and glue guy Jordan Martinook and defenseman Jake Gardiner to injury though.
With such a dynamic roster, the Canes are one of the best at driving play. They rank 6th in expected goals with a 55 xGF%, and generate the most high danger chances out of all. Scoring 3.25 goals per game isn’t too shabby either.
Did I mention that they’re one of the better teams on the power play? That 24.3% clip can cause teams havoc each game.
As good as they are on the offensive side, Carolina is as good, if not better on the defensive end. They allow the least amount of goals per game (2.37), and have the best penalty kill with an 89.3% success rate.
Since coming to Carolina this year, Freddie Andersen has played like one of the best goaltenders in the league. The Danish net-minder is posting career-high numbers with a .926 SV% as well as a +30 GSAx (Goals Saved Above Expected).
Backup Antti Raanta is one of the better backups today with a .918 SV% and a +6.5 GSAx. It’s expected that Andersen will start in this bout.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues are about as solid of a team as you’ll see. Loaded with talent, they’re about as deep as any roster in the league. Problem is, they’ll be missing Scott Perunovich, Torey Krug, and Tyler Bozak to injury. Lucky for them, but Jordan Kyrou is becoming a superstar, and have gotten great production out of Vladimir Tarasenko, Pavel Buchnevich, and Robert Thomas.
Regardless of the quality production from their top guys, driving play isn’t their specialty. Sure, scoring 3.52 goals per game is great, and leads to wins, but they rank in the bottom tier in expected goals with a 47.88 xGF%, and in high danger chances. The power play is where they thrive though, as they score 26.3% of the time.
Losing two key pieces of the blue line in Perunovich and Krug are critical. St. Louis is typically a sound defensive team, but it’ll be interesting to see how they fare (adding Nick Leddy at the deadline helps too). They don’t allow many goals per game (2.77), and their penalty kill is very good, with an 82.5% success rate.
The goaltending situation has suddenly got a little more sticky than many thought. Finnish netminder Ville Husso has taken over the #1 role in net and he’s done a phenomenal job at that. Husso has posted incredible numbers with a .925 SV% and a +14.8 GSAx.
Backup Jordan Binnington lost the crease with very poor play in the new calendar year. The former Cup winner has a .901 SV% and a -6.3 GSAx. Since Binnington played Thursday against Philadelphia, I expect Husso to get the nod.
Hurricanes vs. Blues Pick
Both teams have not been playing their best hockey, but St. Louis is hobbling into Saturday. Missing two key pieces of the defense hurts, but acquiring a veteran like Leddy will definitely help the Blues on the blue line.
It’s so hard to bet against the Hurricanes, even when they’re struggling. They stifle opponents in the defensive zone, and even if teams get a chance to pass by, then you’ll have to deal with Andersen.
I’m going to back Carolina in this matchup as I have a lot more confidence in them than I do with the Blues. To make things a little more interesting, I thought betting the under in a 2-Leg Parlay would be a good play as well, especially if Husso is playing.
Should Binnington get the start, then I would avoid that, and just pick Carolina moneyline, which is lowest at DraftKings.
Pick: Carolina ML -125 | Bonus: Under 6 goals if Husso is playing (+243 parlay)
