Welcome to the latest edition of NHL Predictions. Every day, the Last Word on Hockey team digs into upcoming games to provide analysis on the matchups and take a look at what elements can change the game. Today, we take a look at the Colorado Avalanche coming to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Be sure to check in with more NHL Predictions as the season moves on.
NHL Predictions
Colorado Avalanche at Carolina Hurricanes
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
TV: FDSNSO; ALT; ESPN+
This cross-conference matchup features the second and final time the Avalanche and Hurricanes will meet each other this season. The first matchup saw Colorado skate to a 6-4 victory in Denver. It should be a high-flying affair as the Avalanche’s offensive stars will look to keep outshooting the opposition while Carolina will look to get back to their game.
The Avalanche Story
The Colorado Avalanche have had an up-and-down season up until this point. The team sits with a record of 14-12-0 and is in a tight battle for the final wild card playoff spot. Tuesday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres somewhat exemplified what the Avalanche have been experiencing this season. After being down 4-0, the Avalanche stormed back to win the game 5-4.
As that game showed, this team has a high-powered offence along with an inability to keep the puck out of the net. The team sits at the bottom of the league in goals against per games played at 3.73. Their penalty kill has also struggled with a 73.1% effectiveness. Alexandar Georgiev has especially struggled in net with a 3.54 goals against average and a .867 save percentage. Needless to say, the team is desperately searching for some defence moving forward.
But on the other side of the coin, the team has done fairly well offensively. Nathan MacKinnon continues to sit at the top of the league in points with 39. Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar both are close behind with 35 and 32 respectively. Unsurprisingly, those three made Team Canada (MacKinnon and Makar) and Team Finland (Rantanen) for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. As a team, their 3.27 goals for per game has them in the top third of the league. Colorado will look to keep this offence rolling in this one.
The Hurricanes Story
At the other end of the ice, the Carolina Hurricanes sit in third in the Metropolitan Division. With a record of 16-8-1, the Hurricanes have been playing pretty well to start the season. That is until lately. They enter this matchup riding a three-game losing streak and a record of 5-4-1 in their last ten. After starting so well, the latest stretch has seen the Hurricanes making very uncharacteristic mistakes. Costly turnovers, slow starts and an inability to drive play have all plagued the team. They also hit some unfortunate injury luck in goal as both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov went down. Luckily, Kochetkov is now back and will likely see the net here.
On the defensive side overall, the Hurricanes have been decent with a 2.92 goals against per game and an 82.6% penalty kill. But offensively, they have been even better. Their power play is running at 27.5% while their goals for per game at 3.72 is top five in the league. For the last stretch of games that they have struggled to keep the puck out of their net, their wins have come with an ability to score at a high rate. While the reasons for that are likely multi-faceted, Martin Necas‘s hot start is a big reason why. He sits at the top of the league’s point leaders with 39 points (same as MacKinnon) and seems to find a way on the scoresheet almost every game. Necas was just named the first star of the month for November.
To be able to walk out of this one with a victory, Carolina needs to get back to their game. Everyone needs to be on board, and they need to put together a 60-minute effort. They need their top guys to be top guys and lead by example. That could be the difference in this one.
Prediction
Both teams are trying to figure out their own issues. The Avalanche are looking to get stability in net while the Hurricanes are looking to return to what they did so well to start the season. Who figures it out sooner may be the winner in this one. But the way things are looking, Colorado is coming into this one riding a wave of confidence after mounting a major comeback victory. Meanwhile, Carolina suffered a lacklustre defeat at home on Tuesday. Until they show a turn, they may still be riding that struggling trend.
Prediction: Colorado wins 5-4
Prop Bets of the Night
Looking at bets for the night, FanDuel has the over/under at 6.5 with -110 odds for the over, which may be a good bet in this one. Mackinnon at +155 odds and Necas at +165 are safe bets for any time goal scorers. But Seth Jarvis for Carolina might be worth taking a look at as he has recently returned from injury. He has any time goal-scoring odds at +195.
Main Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The post NHL Predictions: December 5 with Colorado Avalanche vs Carolina Hurricanes appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.