Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, NHL Odds
The Toronto Maple Leafs conclude their longest road trip of the season on Thursday night with a visit to an excellent Carolina team that could win the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes are -195 on the NHL odds with a total of 6.5 goals.
Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes NHL Betting Odds
In many ways, Thursday screams trap game Toronto. For one thing, it’s at the end of a season-long six-game road trip and after a visit to two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida on Tuesday. And the Maple Leafs have one of their biggest home games of the season on Saturday with Montreal making its last visit of the campaign. So it might be understandable for the Leafs to not play well Thursday.
There’s also the fact that Carolina is again one of the Eastern Conference’s top contenders and leading the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes are -190 favourites for that and +380 leaders in the East. Only scorching-hot Colorado at +400 has shorter Stanley Cup odds than Carolina’s +800. But who is the team’s top goalie? The Hurricanes have been using three in former Leaf Frederik Andersen, who is probably the guy if healthy, Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov.
Thursday marks the second of three regular-season meetings between the clubs and Toronto’s only visit to Raleigh. Carolina visits Scotiabank Arena on March 20 and won there, 5-4, on Nov. 9. The Hurricanes trailed 4-2 late in the second. Logan Stankoven scored the winner at 12:13 of the third. Bussi had 16 saves in the win and Dennis Hildeby stopped 41 shots in the loss.
Carolina is 6-4 in the past 10 meetings overall and the over-under is the same.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto has come alive lately in this trip, winning 7-2 in Pittsburgh on Saturday and then an even more impressive 4-1 win at two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida on Tuesday to get back over .500. Joseph Woll was the deserved No. 1 star with 26 saves.
Blueliner Troy Stecher scored on Toronto’s first shot of the game as the Maple Leafs became the first team to score a goal on their first shot in three consecutive games this season. Toronto became the first club to do so with all three goals scored by defencemen since 2009-10 when real-time shot data was officially tracked. It was Stecher’s first goal of the season, and he later added an assist and has a three-game points streak.
John Tavares concluded the scoring with his 13th goal of the year, an empty netter. That was goal No. 507 to tie Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau for No. 45 on the NHL’s all-time list.
With how well Woll played, we’d think he starts again Thursday. He is 1-0-1 with a 2.34 GAA in two home outings this year. The over is 11-4 in Toronto’s past 15 against the East.
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina continues to battle for the Metro lead and the most points in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have followed a two-game skid with back-to-back win following a 1-0 OT victory against visiting Calgary on Sunday, so the team is well-rested.
Nikolaj Ehlers’ fifth goal of the season won it at 2:25 of OT. It was the seventh overtime tally of his career and his first with Carolina. No other Danish player in NHL history has more than four overtime goals.
Rookie Brandon Bussi made 15 saves for his first NHL shutout. He has played back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career and has won five straight starts. Bussi became the third goaltender with seven wins through his first eight appearances with the Hurricanes/Whalers, following Frederik Andersen (eight in 2021-22) and Martin Gerber (seven in 2005-06).
Decent chance it’s Andersen’s turn Thursday against his former team. Carolina captain and forward Jordan Staal returned from a three-game injury absence Sunday. The over is 9-4 in the Hurricanes’ past 13 at home.
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