PNC Arena will be hosting an Eastern Conference matchup as the Detroit Red Wings visit Raleigh to meet the Carolina Hurricanes. Fox Sports Detroit will broadcast the matchup, and the opening face-off takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, February 2.
Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes Odds
Carolina (+145) is playing the role of underdog to Carolina (-165), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -130 for the under and +110 for the over.
The Hurricanes are 23-27 straight up (SU) and have lost 5.7 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with what the team posted during last year’s regular season (36-46). Of the team’s 50 games this season, 23 have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just two have pushed. The team’s 11-11 SU at home this year.
Carolina’s converted on 19.3 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 26th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.5 percent of all penalties.
Carolina, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties just 2.8 times per game overall this season, and 3.6 per game over its last five home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 7.4 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Boasting a .892 save percentage and 23.9 saves per game, Scott Darling (9-20-6) has been the best goalkeeper for the Hurricanes this year. If they, however, choose to give him a rest, head coach Bill Peters could roll with Cam Ward (14-10-10 record, .907 save percentage, 2.78 goals against average).
The Canes will continue to lean on the leadership via Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho. Teravainen (40 points) is up to 13 goals and 27 assists and has recorded two or more points on 10 separate occasions this year. Aho has 17 goals and 21 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 25 games.
Over on the other bench, Detroit is 20-29 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.9 units for moneyline bettors thus far. A total of 27 of its matches have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and none have pushed. As a road team so far, Detroit is 9-12 SU.
Detroit has converted on 18.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 19th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.9 percent of all penalties.
Detroit’s skaters have been penalized 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 3.1 per game over their past ten outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jimmy Howard (2.82 goals against average and .911 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Detroit. Howard is averaging 26.2 saves per game and owns a 14-24-6 record.
For the visiting Red Wings, the offense will be facilitated through Dylan Larkin (eight goals, 30 assists) and Henrik Zetterberg (six goals, 26 assists).
Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone under in three of Carolina’s last five games.
Detroit has managed 29.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Carolina is averaging 36.6 shots per game over its last five at home.
Penalties and power plays could prove to be key in tonight’s game. The Red Wings are 7-11 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 13-20 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Hurricanes are 13-16 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 19-22 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Detroit is 4-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Carolina is 3-3 in shootouts.
One of the best at disrupting their opponents, Carolina is ranked 2nd in the league with 10.4 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down recently, however, as it has created 9.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.8 takeaways over its last five.
Detroit skaters have managed 7.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 6.3 takeaways per game (ranked 24th overall).
