PNC Arena is playing host to an enticing showdown as the Carolina Hurricanes square off against the visiting New York Islanders. The game will get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, October 11, and you can watch this divisional matchup live on MSG Network.
New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes Odds
New York (+155) is playing the role of underdog to Carolina (-175), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-120 under, +100 over).
Earning moneyline bettors 4.0 units, the Hurricanes are 4-0 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 46-36 record from the 2018-19 season campaign. The team is 2-0 SU at home this year.
Carolina has successfully found the net on 33.3 percent of its power play opportunities so far. That’s a big improvement from last season, when the team was ranked 26th in the league by scoring on 16.4 percent of its extra-man advantages. Its penalty kill has softened slightly year-over-year as it’s gone from successfully defending 79.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 21st overall last season) to 78.9 percent this year.
As a team, Carolina has been whistled for penalties 5.5 times per game this season, a number that’s swelled from last year’s 3.5 penalties per game the team gave up. After serving an average of 7.7 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to kill penalties for a whopping 11.0 minutes per outing this year.
Sporting a .878 save percentage and 21.5 saves per game, the undefeated Petr Mrazek (2-0) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Hurricanes this year. If head coach Rod Brind Amour chooses to rest him, however, the team could turn to the undefeated James Reimer (2-0 record, .940 save percentage, 2.42 goals against average).
Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen will both be focal points for the Hurricanes. Svechnikov has assisted on six goals while Teravainen has one goal and four assists to his credit so far in the season’s early going.
On the visiting bench, New York is 1-2 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.9 units for moneyline bettors thus far. A total of two of its outings have gone under the total, while one has gone over and none have pushed.
New York’s scored on 25.0 percent of its power play chances this year after converting on 15.1 percent of its extra-man opportunities last season (a percentage that was ranked just 29th in league-wide). The team’s gone from killing off 80.7 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 13th overall last season) to 66.7 percent this year.
New York’s players have been called for penalties only 2.7 times per game this season, a number that has improved from the 3.3 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.8 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to kill penalties for 6.0 minutes per matchup this year.
Thomas Greiss (21.0 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for New York. Greiss has one win and one to his credit, while registering a .955 save percentage and 1.32 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Islanders will be Anthony Beauvillier (two goals, two assists) and Leo Komarov (zero goals, three assists).
New York Islanders vs. Carolina Hurricanes Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- After going 2-2 in games decided by a shootout last year, Carolina is off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. New York went 5-5 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- New York has managed only 0.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Carolina is averaging 43.5 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Carolina is putting up 4.3 goals per game on its four-game winning streak.
- New York skaters created 26.2 hits per game last season, while the Canes logged 26.7 hits per matchup.
