Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, NHL Odds
Four straight losses for the Habs have made the Eastern Conference wildcard race so much tighter, as three points separate five teams for the final spot in the postseason.
The Hurricanes are looking to shake off a tough loss of their own after dropping their Tuesday night contest to the bottom-feeding Nashville Predators.
The Hurricanes are a heavy favourite to win Friday night, sitting at -250 on the NHL odds. The game total is sitting at 5.5 goals. The puck will drop at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, at 7 p.m. ET.
Canadiens vs. Hurricanes NHL Betting Odds
Friday marks the second of three meetings this season between the Canes and Habs and the sole matchup to be played in Raleigh. Montreal shut the Hurricanes out in a 4-0 win at home just over a month ago, and they will play one more time on the final day of the regular season. Nick Suzuki’s three-point night (1G, 2A) and Sam Montembeault stopping all 20 shots carried the Canadiens to the win back in February.
The Canadiens have been horrible defensively as of late, giving up six goals in their back-to-back losses. They have hit the OVER in four straight games, pushing their record on the OVER/UNDER to 37-29-5 on the season. The Canadiens’ playoff push saw them cover the spread in eight straight games, but they have failed to do so in their past two games. Their record ATS is still an impressive 41-30 this year.
Low scoring games have been the Hurricanes’ M.O. for the past few seasons, and it has been status quo this year, going 27-39-5 on the OVER/UNDER. They have only hit the OVER in three of their past 10 games, and the total has been set at 5.5 quite frequently. They have lost only twice in their past eight games and failed to cover the spread in both.
Montreal Canadiens
After picking up points in six straight contests, the Canadiens ran out of luck and dropped two in a row. After a loss to the red-hot St. Louis Blues, the Habs needed to bounce back Thursday night against the Flyers, who have been struggling lately, resulting in the firing of their head coach.
The game got off to a bad start, and Montreal did not have the gas to battle back. The Flyers scored before the two-minute mark and outscored the Habs 3-1 in the first period. The Canadiens saved face a bit in the third period, scoring three more, but Philly scored three themselves for a 6-4 final.
Alex Newhook (14), Cole Caufield (34), Christian Dvorak (10) and Patrik Laine (18) all scored for the Canadiens, while Jakub Dobes allowed six goals on 30 shots, losing his third start in a row.
Coming into the final handful of games, the Canadiens need to string together wins to create some separation in the Eastern wild-card race. Nobody would have expected the Habs to be in the mix, so expect this young team to make the most of their opportunity.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Canes have lost some steam after going on an eight-game heater earlier this month. A big loss in Los Angeles last weekend put an end to that streak, and they have been looking to get back on track ever since. They should be well rested heading into Friday’s matchup at home versus the Canadiens after being out of action since Tuesday’s loss to the Predators.
They outshot Nashville 35-16 in that contest, but only found the back of the net once in the second period thanks to Taylor Hall’s 16th of the season. It was the fourth straight game Carolina failed to score in the first period, so the team needs to improve on getting out of the gate faster.
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped only 13 of the 16 shots thrown at him and suffered his second straight loss. He did not stop more than 20 shots in either game. Expect to see Frederik Andersen in goal on Friday.
The Canes are not playing for much at the moment, with second place in the Metropolitan Division locked down. Although no team wants to enter the playoffs ice cold, expect a better effort from coach Rod Brind’Amour’s squad on Friday.
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