Avalanche vs. Hurricanes Odds
| Avalanche Odds | +115 |
| Hurricanes Odds | -138 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 +104o / -128u |
Two Stanley Cup favorites will go head-to-head on Thursday as the Avalanche visit the Hurricanes. Colorado has started its post All-Star break road trip with back-to-back losses and are +110 underdogs versus a 'Canes side which owns a record of 15-6-4 on home ice.
Colorado Avalanche
There have been surprisingly few reports of potential trades from the Avalanche ahead of the trade deadline, but we should expect those rumors to pick up soon. All of the Avalanche's superstars have been true to form, and have carried the team to a 32-15-4 record this season.
There are a few depth pieces offering strong play this season. Jonathon Drouin, Logan O'Connor, and Ross Colton have offered some solid support to the big dogs up front. Having Artturi Lehkonen back in the lineup also will help shore up the forward corps. Still, the Avs' feature more skaters posting below average results both up front and on the back end than arguably any other contender. Even modest upgrades could go a long ways to solidifying their cup chances, which are already very legitimate.
Since the turn of the new year the Avs' have allowed a 3.25 xGA/60, which is the 13th highest mark in the league. They have allowed 3.5 actual goals-against-per-game, which would be a bottom five mark in the league over the entirety of the season. I would by no means argue that they are awful at goal suppression, but it is certainly not their elite defensive play that has made them a cup contender this year.
It's thanks to their rosters' excellence at the other end of the ice that they are still playing a winning brand of hockey. They have generated 3.46 xGF/60 in 2024, and rank second league wide with 3.76 goals-for-per-game.
It's interesting to note that in the Avalanche's cup winning 2022 season, they followed a similar recipe, ranking fourth in goals-for, but ninth in goals-against in the regular season. In the playoffs that year, their goals-per-game climbed all the way up to 4.25, a mark drastically higher than the Panthers's record setting regular season pace that year.
While they weren't a bad defensive team, it was their elite offensive play that really earned them a cup title in 2022. If they make a deep run this season, we will likely see a similar story.
Alexandar Georgiev will likely get the start in goal. He has played to a +3.9 GSAx and .899 save % in 42 appearances this season.
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Carolina Hurricanes
Contrary to their opponent, if the Hurricanes win the cup, their elite defensive play will likely be the greatest storyline, just as it has always been in the Rod Brind'Amour era. They have received a team-save percentage of only .881 this year though, which has forced them to score their way out of trouble on more occasions than desired.
.881 is the second-worst save percentage league wide, and arriving at the 49 game mark at 28-16-5 with that is a true testament to the teams' overall play.
They have scored 3.35 goals-for-per-game this year, which is the tenth best mark in the league. Over the last ten games their 3.43 ranks seventh in the league, which states their quietly strong offensive output is sustainable.
Looking away from the numbers, it is easy to see that this roster holds some legitimate offensive firepower. It feels like Sebastian Aho is putting up one of the quietest 90+ point campaigns in recent memory. If he can continue his red-hot play, he could break the 100 point plateau. Martin Necas has the offensive skill-set to be a point-per-game player at the NHL level. After a slow start to the campaign, he has really started to turn it on as of late. The 'Canes should also get their best goalscorer back in the lineup this week, as Andrei Svechnikov is a game-time decision for tonight's contest. Prior to injury, he had put up 18 points in his last 11 games.
It is unclear whether it will be Antti Raanta or Pyotr Kochetkov garnering the start in goal Thursday. Kochetkov has played to an .898 save percentage in 2023-24, while Raanta is down at .870.
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Avalanche vs. Hurricanes
Betting Pick & Prediction
The Hurricanes have trended relatively low in terms of recent game totals, which is part of why we are getting a better number on the over than we typically would see for an Avalanche game. Carolina has generated lots of quality chances in those games though, which have come against a lot of top defensive teams or notably low event sides like the Coyotes.
The Avalanche's lack of depth down the roster has caused them to allow a greater-than-league- average amount of chances-against recently, and the Hurricanes should be able to expose that flaw.
Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and company will usually find a way to generate some offence against any competition though. The Hurricanes are obviously an excellent defensive team, but I think the Avs' stars can get theirs offensively here, especially since I do not expect a game script which allows the Avs' to roll all four lines very often.
Getting past even money to bet the Over 6.5 here presents value, and I would bet anything better than -105. Bet365 users can bet both teams to score three goals at +170, which is also worthy of a smaller play.
Pick: Over 6.5 +105 (BetMGM), Both Teams to Score Three +170 (bet365)
