Both St. Louis and Carolina are playing some of their best hockey of the season right now, but neither is assured even a playoff spot as they conclude their regular-season series on Friday night in Raleigh with the Hurricanes as slight NHL odds favorites.
How to Bet Blues vs Hurricanes NHL Week 22 Odds & Game Info
“I think it’s all about the chemistry on the team.” pic.twitter.com/W6HAuQVLJl
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) 28 de febrero de 2019
- When: Friday, 7:30 PM ET
- Where: PNC Arena
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.com/tv
- NHL Week 22 Odds: Carolina Hurricanes -120 / St. Louis Blues +100 (Total 5.5)
Season Series
Blues look for the sweep as they won 4-1 at home over Carolina on Nov. 6. Ryan O’Reilly notched his first NHL hat trick and Robby Fabbri added his first goal in almost two years for St. Louis. O’Reilly got the hat trick with an empty-netter at 16:50 of the third period. Chad Johnson recorded 38 saves. It was his first victory as a member of the Blues and his first since March 31, 2018, when he was playing for Buffalo.<?p>
Carolina goalie Curtis McElhinney fell to 1-6-1 against the Blues in his career. He had 15 saves on 18 shots. The Hurricanes outshot the Blues 39-19. St. Louis had just seven shots after the first period. St. Louis improved to 7-2-0 in its last nine games against Carolina.
Why Bet on St. Louis?
The St. Louis Blues were 2-0 home winners over Nashville on Tuesday. St. Louis won the season series 4-1-0, taking the final four matchups from its Central Division rival. The Blues are 11-4-0 in their last 15 games against the Predators, who have a one-point lead in the division over Winnipeg. The third-place Blues have three games in hand on Nashville. St. Louis went 12-1-1 in February, which tied its record for most victories in a calendar month (12-3-0 in April 2013).
Tyler Bozak broke a scoreless tie with 7:25 left. Vladimir Tarasenko made a great play to keep the puck in Nashville’s zone before Bozak beat Juuse Saros five-hole for the only non-empty net goal of the game. It was Bozak’s 10th goal of the season, bringing the 32-year-old center to 27 points in 54 games this season. Alex Pietrangelo scored in an empty net with the Blues on a power play in the dying seconds.
Wayne Simmonds made his Predators debut after he was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft on Monday. He had two shots in 15:46 of ice time.
Jordan Binnington stopped all 19 shots he faced. The 25-year-old goaltender is just the fourth netminder in NHL history to win his first seven home starts, joining Frank McCool (8-0-0 in 1944-45), Ken Dryden (8-0-0 in 1970-71) and Wayne Thomas (7-0-0 in 1972-73). It was Binnington’s fifth shutout of the season, which sets a new franchise record among rookie goaltenders, passing Jake Allen, Ernie Wakely and Brent Johnson, who each posted four shutouts in their rookie seasons.
Binnington also became the second goalie in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to record five shutouts through his first 18 career starts, joining Hockey Hall of Fame member Jacques Plante, who posted five shutouts from Nov. 1, 1952 – March 17, 1954. Binnington has been unreal since the Blues have made him their starter, producing five shutouts in 18 starts. His record is 15-2-1 with a 1.61 goals-against-average and a .936 save percentage.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.92
- Shots: 31.81
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.15
Defense
- Goals: 2.73
- Shots: 28.86
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.75
Why Bet on Carolina?
The Carolina Hurricanes won for the third straight game and sixth in the past seven on Tuesday, 6-1 over the Kings. Carolina finished the month with a 10-3 record and solidified its wild-card position. The Hurricanes haven’t made the playoffs since 2009. They’re trying to end that streak in coach Rod Brind’Amour’s first season.
Sebastian Aho was one of the goal-scorers vs. L.A. Aho is on a three-game point streak and has only been held off the scoresheet once in his last eight contests. He has 25 goals and 70 points in 63 contests this season. This is the first time that the 21-year-old has reached the 70-point milestone. He is the second player in Carolina history to register 70 points before turning 22. Former captain Eric Staal, in 2005-06, was the other.
Dougie Hamilton posted a pair of goals with an assist and a plus-2 rating. Hamilton posted his first multi-goal performance since Feb. 17, 2018, when he had a hat trick against the Florida Panthers as a member of the Calgary Flames. He has six goals and 11 points and a plus-13 rating across the past 15 outings.
Jordan Staal posted three assists with a plus-3 rating on Tuesday. He is getting back to 100 percent healthy after a nearly two-month absence. Petr Mrazek allowed one goal on 23 shots. Mrazek almost had his fourth shutout of the season and the 18th of his career. Mrazek was able to improve to 15-12-3. He splits time with Curtis McElhinney.
Winger Micheal Ferland is not expected to miss any additional time after he left Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury. Ferland had one goal and one assist in 8:36 of ice time prior to his exit. He has 17 goals and 35 points in 54 games this season. The Hurricanes also lost defenseman Justin Faulk on Tuesday night to an upper-body injury. He is also listed as day-to-day.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.97
- Shots: 35.10
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.79
Defense
- Goals: 2.71
- Shots: 28.02
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.88
Blues vs Hurricanes NHL Betting Trends
- Road team is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings
- Underdog is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings
- St. Louis is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
- St. Louis is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games on the road
- Carolina is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
- Carolina is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Carolina’s last 9 games
Expert NHL Betting Prediction
St. Louis Blues 3 – Carolina Hurricanes 2 in a shootout.
