Carolina Hurricanes at Vegas Golden Knights

By Sam Batz

The Carolina Hurricanes turn their attention on the west for a late night rendezvous with the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, Mar. 1st (10:00 PM EST, Bally Sports West). These two division leaders from opposing conferences face off for the first time in what should be a thrilling matchup. The odds favor the Hurricanes at -140, while the Golden Knights are priced at +120. Nonetheless, both Carolina and Vegas are coming off crippling losses, and will look to recover the pride and points they forfeited during their most recent matchups. 

Carolina Hurricanes Chances (-140)

The Carolina Hurricanes are having an incredible season, and find themselves atop their divisional standings with the second-highest point total in the entire league. The Hurricanes are currently 39-11-8 with 86 points through 58 games. They trail only the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference, and lead the Metropolitan Division by 3 points. Carolina went 8-2-0 in their last 10, but lost 2-3 against the lowly Anaheim Ducks in a spectacular upset, which snapped a 5 game winning streak for the Hurricanes. It was a rare misstep for a Carolina side that has improved tremendously over the last two seasons. 

There are 24 games remaining on their schedule, but the Hurricanes have all but clinched their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The statistical analysis website, FiveThirtyEight, is giving the Canes >99% chance to see the postseason, a 20% chance to make the final, and a 12% chance to win the Stanley Cup. According to PointsBet, the Hurricanes are priced at +400 to win the Eastern Conference, and have the third best odds, at +700, to win it all. Carolina’s offensive attack is led by a deadly trio of playmakers: Martin Necas, Sebastian Aho, and Andrei Svechnikov, all of whom have 50+ player points, 20+ goals, and 25+ assists. After their upset loss to Anaheim, the Hurricanes will look to these three to get the team back on track against Vegas. 

Vegas Golden Knights Chances (+120)

The Golden Knights lead the Pacific Division by 2 points, and the Western Conference by 1 point. Vegas is 35-19-6 with 76 points through 60 games, but are holding onto their lead by an extremely slim margin. They went 6-1-3 in their last 10, but have lost 2 consecutive games, dropping 3 vital points along the way. Both of Vegas’ recent losses came against Western rivals, Colorado Avalanche & Dallas Stars, who are vying for control of the conference, and are now hot on the heels of the Golden Knights. 

However, Vegas, regardless of the recent 2 game skid, remains in a strong position to make the playoffs (see FiveThirtyEight link above). Winning the Stanley Cup will be a much tougher task, but the Golden Knights will believe they are well equipped to get the job done. Vegas’ breadth of scorers and playmakers throughout their roster is unbelievable. The Golden Knights have 11 players with 10+ goals, 8 players with 20+ assists, and 8 players with 30+ player points. Chandler Stephenson leads the team with 50 points (12 goals, 38 assists), but the Golden Knights success is due to their unabashing team effort. 

Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights Season Stats

Carolina Hurricanes (39-11-8) 86 195 (12th) 149 (2nd) +46 35.2 (3rd) 3.36 (9th) 2.57 (2nd) 21-7-2 (70.0%) 18-4-6 (64.3%)

Stat Type Pts Total GF Total GA G Diff Shots/GP GF/GP GA/GP Home (Win-rate) Away (Win-rate)

Vegas Golden Knights (35-19-6) 76 189 (T-15th) 166 (10th) +23 32.8 (10th) 3.15 (T-15th) 2.77 (11th) 18-13-1 (56.3%) 17-6-5 (60.7%)

Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights Betting Trends

Carolina Hurricanes 25-33 13-15 (Away) 9-18 (vs. West) 25-32-1 3-7 36-9-6 (as Favorites) 15-2-4 (Favorites Away)

Betting Trend ATS (Season) ATS (Home/Away) ATS (Conference) O/U (Season) O/U (Last 10) ML (Favorite/Underdog) ML (Home/Away)

Vegas Golden Knights 27-33 11-21 (Home) 13-11 (vs. East) 24-32-4 4-5-1 9-6-1 (as Underdogs) 2-1-0 (Underdogs Home)

Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights Odds

Betting odds courtesy of PointsBet:

Team	Spread	Total	Moneyline
Carolina Hurricanes	-1.5 (+185)	Ov 5.5 (-121)	-140
Vegas Golden Knights	+1.5 (-230)	Un 5.5 (+100)	+120

Check back later for the latest point spread, totals, and moneyline odds on PointsBet. 

We are supported by Caesar Sportsbook. Click here to get up to $1,250 back as a bet credit on your first wager with Caesar.

Prediction

Pick the Carolina Hurricanes (-140) to win the game. According to ESPN’s most recent NHL Power Rankings, the Hurricanes are the No. 2 team in the league, because of their suffocating defense and shoot-first mentality. Carolina is 3rd in shots on goal per game (35.2), but even more impressively, they are 1st in shots allowed per game (26.4). The Hurricanes stifle their opponents on defense, crowding the puck and preventing clean looks at the goal. The Golden Knights have a plethora of goalscorers, but if they can’t get their shots off, Carolina will come out on top. 

Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes (-140) Moneyline and the Under (5.5). Final Score 3-1. 

By clicking here you can see OSB’s amazing sports betting packages. There are monthly, weekly, and daily options which are designed to fit the needs of every sports betting enthusiast. 

Click here to visit OSB’s blog posts where you can get expert advice on every game, team, and player, which will improve your chances to win your bets.