Winnipeg Jets vs. Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, NHL Odds
The Winnipeg Jets conclude an incredibly tough road trip Thursday night at an excellent Carolina Hurricanes team. The Canes are heavy favourites to win on the NHL odds.
Jets vs. Hurricanes NHL Betting Odds
It’s possible that no team had a tougher four-game road trip this season than what the Jets will conclude tonight in Carolina, which followed visits to Stanley Cup contenders Florida, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers. This is Winnipeg’s final road game of the season.
Carolina looks for the season sweep, as on Dec. 7 it won at the Jets 4-2. Martin Necas broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period with a power-play goal and Vincent Trocheck also scored with the man advantage at 3:04 of the third to clinch it. Sebastian Aho was the No. 1 star with a goal and assist. Former Maple Leaf Frederik Andersen had to make only 16 saves for Carolina; the Jets had a five-minute power play in the third period and managed only two shots on goal. Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois had the Winnipeg goals and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 shots.
The favourite is 8-2 in the past 10 meetings.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets could be eliminated from playoff contention by the time they take the ice depending on what happened in a few games around the league Wednesday. Winnipeg has been playing like it has little motivation of late on a three-game skid and being outscored a combined 16-5. They are off a 3-0 loss at the New York Rangers on Tuesday. No. 1 netminder Hellebuyck was out with an illness and Eric Comrie took the loss. Not clear if Hellebuyck will start here but since it likely will not matter, Comrie (8-4-1, 2.69 GAA, .914 SV) could get a longer look in the final few games.
Captain Mark Scheifele (29G, 41A) remains out with an upper-body injury. The Jets could go into full shut-down mode with a few others. They are 0-4 in their past four after scoring two goals or fewer in their previous game.
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina netminder Andersen is having a stellar season for the Hurricanes; he was so-so with Toronto last season and signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Canes. However, Andersen is out at least a week with a lower-body injury. Needless to say, the team would rather sit him now even though it is battling for the Metropolitan Division title rather than risk Andersen not being available for the start of the playoffs. Antti Raanta (13-5-4, 2.46 GAA, .912 SV) is a fine backup and won 5-3 in Arizona on Monday.
The Canes also were without top-six forwards Jesperi Kotkaniemi (26 points) and Jordan Staal (34 points) due to injury. They are day-to-day. Max Domi on Monday had his first goal in 14 games with Carolina. The former Montreal Canadiens winger was acquired at the trade deadline from Columbus. The Hurricanes are 5-1 in their past six on two days of rest.
WIN
CAR