Thursday Night in the NHL
Two Games Catch Our Attention and Will Get Our Action on Thursday's Very Attractive NHL Card
Thursday night's 13-game card in the NHL is about action-packed as it gets. Even better, a few games stand out as potentially the very best matchups of the entire season.
Battle of the Best: Colorado at Carolina
The two teams with NHL's best records face off in Raleigh on Thursday night when the Colorado Avalanche (41-12-5) take on the Carolina Hurricanes (39-12-5).
The Avs, who are the odds-on favourites to win the Stanley Cup this season according to most futures projections, are coming off a rare loss two nights ago in New Jersey and will be eager to get back on the winning track. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are riding a two-game win streak and sit comfortably atop the Metropolitan Division.
The Hurricanes are slight underdogs at Spreads.ca (1.96 on the moneyline) against the Avalanche (1.86 on the moneyline) which begins at 7:00 pm ET
Some bettors think that goals are expected to be scored since the O/U is 6.5. Indeed, these two teams combine for 7.3 goals per game, which is .8 goals higher than the total for this contest. However, Carolina also allows the fewest goals in the NHL this season (just 134 total in 56 games), so Colorado is likely to be put to the test when they have the puck inside the opponents' zone.
OPINION (courtesy of Pointspreads.ca):
Even though these teams tend to rack up goals against weaker opponents, we think this one will be more of a defensive struggle.
Look for the 'Canes to continue excelling in goaltending and the game to fall under the posted number.
We lay a little extra juice, but going under is almost always preferable with a total at 6.5. We should also note these two teams concede a combined 5.3 goals per game on average, which is 1.2 less than this O/U.
Fire on Ice: Lightning Hope to Strike Against Flames
Two hours after Colorado and Carolina face off early on the East Coast, the puck drops in Alberta for another much-anticipated showdown.
The Tampa Bay Lightning (37-13-6) take on the Calgary Flames (34-15-7) that will test two of the league's best clubs in their respective roles as host and visitor. The Flames are 16-5-5 at home this season, while the Lightning have gone a spectacular 18-8-2 away from home.
Spreads.ca currently lists the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning as faves (1.83 on the moneyline). The Flames are a rare home dog in this contest (2.00 on the moneyline). The O/U is 6 goals.
OPINION (courtesy of Pointspreads.ca):
It's tough to pick either side here, and the scoring total looks about right. Nonetheless, there might be some value in the home team on the puckline.
Grabbing a determined Calgary team that's coming off a loss and getting the extra goal looks tempting.
So, we'll take the Flames to keep this one close and lay 1.45.
