The Hurricanes come into Wednesday sitting at 13-4-0 on the year and have won three of their last four games. They will face the Flyers on Wednesday night. Prior to that, they faced the St. Louis Blues. The Blues took the early lead, but the Hurricanes would tie it up in the first period. In the second period, Martin Necas would add his second assist of the game, and then score a goal. He would add one more goal in the third as the Hurricanes won the game 4-1.
Meanwhile, the Devils are 12-7-2 on the year and have won five of their last seven games. Last time out, they faced the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that game, they got down 1-0 in the first period, but could not find the net. They would surrender three more goals in the third period and would fall 4-0.
Sebastian Aho leads the top line for the Carolina Hurricanes this year. He comes into the game with four goals and 11 assists on the year, including a goal and five assists on the power play this year. Meanwhile, Andrei Svechnikov joins him on the top line. He has six goals and ten assists this year with four goals and four assists on the power play this year. Finally, Jack Roslovic has nine goals and an assist on the year from the top line.
Martin Necas has led the way for the Hurricanes this year, coming from the second line. He has 11 goals and 19 assists on the year, including four goals and eight assists on the power play. He is joined by Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi has two goals and nine assists on the year from the second line. The Hurricanes also get solid production from the blue line. Shayne Gostisbehere has been solid this year, with four goals and nine assists. Further, three of the goals and six of the assists have come on the power play this year.
Pytor Kochetkov is expected to be in goal for the Hurricanes for this one. He is 9-2-0 on the year with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. He is eighth in the NHL in goals-against average this year. In his last start, he stopped 29 of 30 shots to take the win over the Blues.
Why the Devils Could Cover the Spread/Win
The Devils are led by a top-line of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer. Hischier scored 27 goals and had 40 assists last year with 67 total points. Hischier has ten goals and ten assists this year. Timo Meier led the team in goals last year. In his 69 games, he scored 28 times with 24 assists. That was good for 52 total points. Meier has seven goals and seven assists this year. Mercer has struggled some this year, coming in with five goals and six assists this year.
Jack Hughes leads the second line. Jack Hughes was also solid in his 62 games last year. He had 27 goals, 47 assists, and 74 total points. Hughes has eight goals and 14 assists on the year. Jesper Bratt joins him on the second line. Bratt led the team in points last year, with 27 goals, 56 assists, and 83 total points. He has eight goals and 16 assists. Finally, on the third line, Stefan Noesen has been great. He has nine goals and seven assists on the year. That places fourth on the team in points this year.
Jacob Markstom is expected to be in goal for the Devils in this one. He is 8-5-1 with a 2.58 goals-against-average and a .907 save percentage. Markstrom has won five of his last seven starts. Last time out, he stopped 23 of 26 shots, taking the loss to the Lightning. It was the third time in the last five games he was below .890 in save percentage.
Final Hurricanes-Devils Prediction & Pick
The Hurricanes are one of the best-scoring teams in the NHL this year, scoring 4.00 goals per game. They are also eighth on the power play and sit fifth in both goals against per game and the penalty kill. They come into this NHL game with similar odds to win as the Devils. Still, the Devils are scoring just 3.43 goals per game, and their defense is just as good. They are seventh in goals-against per game and sixth on the power play. Expect each team to be more defensive-focused in this one and take the under.