Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, NHL Odds
Taking down Connor McDavid and the Oilers is no easy task but the Leafs’ offence was up for the task on Saturday. Without much rest, the team will have an even tougher task on Sunday as they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. The Canes have picked up at least a point in their past six games and have been a different animal since adding at the trade deadline.
Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. ET and our NHL odds have the Hurricanes as a slight favourite, sitting at -185 on the moneyline. The OVER/UNDER set at an even six goals.
Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes NHL Betting Odds
This will be the third and final meeting of the season between the Eastern Conference powerhouses and the Hurricanes have a chance to sweep the series after taking the first the first two games by a single goal each. In their most recent meeting just a week ago, the Leafs took a 3-0 lead in the second period but the Canes stormed back with four goals in the last half of the game to force overtime. The game was decided in a shootout where the Leafs did not manage to score. Sebastian Aho has six points (2G, 4A) so far in this season’s series and was the first star in both of the Hurricanes’ wins.
The Leafs’ offence has been top-five all season, but scoring six and seven goals in their last two games has powered them to back-to-back wins. They have now played the OVER five games in a row and a total of 39 times this season. Their record on the spread is just 25-44 but it is trending in the right direction, covering four of their past five.
The NHL’s seventh-best offence, paired with the fifth-best defence is what makes Carolina such a dangerous team this season. Their OVER/UNDER record is 31-39-1 after being in a few high-scoring games lately, hitting the OVER in three of the last five.
The Hurricanes are now listed as the third favourite to win the Stanley Cup this season at +750 sitting just behind the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers.
Toronto Maple Leafs
When McDavid makes his yearly visit to Toronto it tends to draw a lot of attention, but it was the Leafs who stole the show Saturday night on home ice. Despite all the star power on both sides, it was Toronto’s bottom six forwards that made all the difference. Bobby McMann scored two goals and finished with three points, while Pontus Holmberg also scored twice. The Leafs had a 5-0 lead going into the third period but the Oilers stormed back with three goals in a row to cut their lead to 5-3. Auston Matthews solidified the win though, putting the game to bed with his league-leading 58th goal into the empty net.
The worst part of the Leafs’ defensive lapse in the third period was goalie Ilya Samsonov getting injured trying to save the third goal. He stopped 31 of 34 shots faced in the game before injuring himself while sliding across the crease.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes’ most recent outing on Friday night was an uncharacteristic 7-6 final, losing in a shootout to a desperate Washington Capitals team. The Canes opened the scoring and held a 2-1 lead after the first period. The Caps rallied and stole the lead in the second before Carolina stormed back with a pair of their own to take back the lead. Washington out-scored Carolina in the third 3-2 to force the game to extra time and the Caps scored the lone goal in the shootout for a 7-6 win.
Aho and his newest teammate Jake Guentzel are becoming quite the duo. Aho had three goals against Washington while Guentzel registered three assists. Guentzel has picked up 11 points (2G, 9A) in seven games so far in Raleigh and he is helping Aho reach a career-high in points as well. Aho’s 79 points is just four behind his career-best and he is on pace for over 90 points this year.
