Hurricanes vs. Lightning Odds
| Hurricanes Odds | -110 |
| Lightning Odds | -110 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 -114 / -104 |
It's an old-school Southeast Division clash at Amalie Arena on Saturday, when the Tampa Bay Lightning host to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Both squads have 16 points in 14 games, are coming off losses where they gave up five goals, and are missing their starting goalies due to health issues. So, which side has the edge? Read on for a preview and a Hurricanes vs. Lightning prediction.
Carolina Hurricanes
A popular pick to win the Stanley Cup, the Carolina Hurricanes are currently holding down a playoff spot largely because of their offense. At 3.29 goals scored per game, they're hovering in the top half of the league, and their power play is clicking at a solid 25%.
Teuvo Teravainen is off to a hot start with eight goals, and five players have already hit double digits in points, led by Jesperi Kotkaniemi with 13.
The story is a little rougher on the defensive side of the puck, where Carolina is allowing 3.5 goals against per game and the penalty kill is a somewhat shaky 76.9%. But the Hurricanes are giving up just 26.3 shots per game, one of the lowest numbers in the league, and still sit sixth in expected goals share (55.34%).
In net, Frederik Andersen is sidelined indefinitely while he deals with a blood-clot issue. That leaves Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov to down hold the fort.
Raanta got the start in the Hurricanes 5-2 defeat in Florida on Friday, so Kochetkov will likely draw in against the Lightning. The 24-year-old was summoned from the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on Monday after the news about Andersen was made public. Kochetkov's numbers with Carolina were great earlier in the year and he was solid in his three AHL starts — allowing just five goals for a 1.63 GAA and a .932 save percentage.
Up front, the Hurricanes are healthy. On Friday, reliable defender Brett Pesce drew back in on the blue line after missing eight games with a lower-body injury.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Speaking of being undermanned in net, the Tampa Bay Lightning are counting the days until Andrei Vasilevskiy can get back between the pipes. Earlier this week, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said they're expecting Vasilevskiy to return around Thanksgiving. For now, Tampa Bay is relying on Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins.
Johansson has handled the lion's share of the workload and it looks like that's starting to take a toll. After posting back-to-back shutouts against the Hurricanes and Sharks in late October, he has given up at least four goals in each of his past four starts.
Tampa Bay's upcoming schedule is nicely spaced out, so that shutout against Carolina on Oct. 24 could be an incentive for Cooper to go back to Johansson.
Meanwhile, the Lightning are cooking up front. Led by Nikita Kucherov, who is challenging for the league lead in both goals and points, Tampa Bay is averaging 3.79 goals per game and its power play is clicking at a tremendous 33.3% clip. The Lightning's overall expected goals share is weak, at 47.87%, but their penalty kill has been excellent (86.4%).
Hurricanes vs. Lightning
Betting Pick & Prediction
Both Carolina and Tampa Bay have some elite qualities, but are coming off tough losses. They're also both digging into their goalie pool to keep their teams afloat.
Carolina has better underlying numbers and has won five of its past seven, but has only exceeded three goals once in the past eight games. And they're playing on the road, on the second half of a back-to-back.
Tampa Bay has more offensive pop with five or more goals in four of its past eight, but the Lightning have won just two of their past six. Yes, they're at home, but they're wrapping up a busy week that has them playing their fourth game in six nights.
Taking all that into consideration, look for the Hurricanes to bounce back after Friday's disheartening loss.
As of Friday night, BetRivers is offering the best moneyline odds for Carolina (-108).
Pick: Hurricanes Moneyline | Play to -120
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