Islanders vs. Hurricanes Pick
Are the New York Islanders and host Carolina Hurricanes primed to play a free-flowing, high-scoring game tonight at 7:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Hurricanes are listed as a -200 favorite on the spread line. The Islanders are a +170 underdog, while the total is set at a very high 6.5 goals. Carolina opened as a -155 favorite before the line started rising, while the total has gone up from 6 goals.
As of Friday afternoon, 59 percent of public bets have been placed on the Hurricanes. Online wager info also shows that 57 percent of bets are coming in on the under.
The two meetings have been split 1-1 this season as New York won 6-4 on its home ice Nov. 16, while three days later Carolina returned the favor with a 4-2 victory. A season’s worth of data shows that these two teams play a lot of high-scoring games, particularly the Islanders who are very bad in the back end. But a total of 6.5 is also very hard to pass and requires both teams to be on their game offensively. I’m very wary of pulling the trigger on anything that high unless the recipe is perfect. Carolina can at least be competent defensively and occassionally has strong goaltending from the likes of Cam Ward.
The last 10 meetings have been split 5-5, while the over has gone 6-3-1. New York is on a back-to-back after recording a 3-0 shutout over the rival Rangers at home last night, breaking a stretch of eight straight games where the Islanders allowed three or more goals. Even so, the under is 6-4 in the last 10 New York games. Carolina had a three-game win streak snapped last game with a 5-2 loss at New Jersey. The Hurricanes are 6-4 in their last 10, while the under is 7-3.
Seems like the under is the safest play here. New York is going to have some tired legs late in the game, while Carolina had only allowed a total of five goals during its three-game home winning streak. Plus, taking the over on 6.5 goals is just a risk I’m not willing to take here.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: ISLANDERS/HURRICANES UNDER 6.5