In this betting preview, I have for you two high-class matchups of top teams in the NHL. If you enjoy watching the best play hockey and placing money on it, then you’ve come to the right place.
Pittsburgh Penguins (-135) vs Carolina Hurricanes (+110)
The Pittsburgh Penguins host the NHL’s best team in the Carolina Hurricanes today and it is a battle of the top of the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes have the commanding lead on the division, but the Penguins have had a solid year despite a bunch of injuries.
Whether Antti Raanta, who is coming off a shutout, or Frederik Anderson, who is in the Vezina Trophy contention, the Hurricanes are covered in net and protected by Jaccob Salvin who had an incredible shutdown game against the Colorado Avalanche two days ago.
The Penguins also have a stud in net in Tristan Jarry, but their real threat is Sidney Crosby who comes into the game riding an eight-game point streak, scoring five goals and 11 points. Carolina is coming off a game yesterday during the day against the Philadelphia Flyers in which they won, but either way, they will be tired with less than 24 hours between games. The Penguins have had a rest but are worse at home than they are on the road, which is a change.
The value is in the Hurricanes who are the underdogs and are 9-1-1 in the past 11 games rather than the Penguins who are 5-4-1 in their past 10. Also, look at the under, as the Hurricanes allow the fewest goals in the NHL (U6, +100).
Colorado Avalanche (-160) vs Calgary Flames (+135)
Recent news broke that the Colorado Avalanche’s captain Gabriel Landeskog will likely miss the rest of the regular season with a knee injury. They have had a rough stretch going 1-3-1 and losing to teams like the Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey Devils.
The Avalanche and Calgary Flames play each other for the second time this season, with the first matchup occurring eight days ago in Colorado when the Flames took the game 4-3 in overtime. Even with one or two top players out, the Avalanche are a dangerous team. Look at how they did when Nathan MacKinnon was out for some games. Don’t expect the Avalanche to allow a team to come into their home building twice and beat them.
The Flames have a much worse record on the road than they do at home, going 18-10-2, while the Avalanche are 23-3-3 at home. The Avalanche were shut down by the Hurricanes last game, so as the second-highest scoring team in the NHL, they won’t be shut down again. Their stars, like MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Nazem Kadri, and Mikko Rantanen, aren’t held off the scoresheet long. Take the Colorado money line in this one.
