Thursday’s NHL bet du jour: Carolina at Colorado

Joe (@pointshaving) and I (@stuckey2) put our heads together to come up with our consensus play of the day on the ice.

Wednesday recap:

Leafs got the job done for us in Anaheim by ending their three-game skid. How about the ageless Patrick Marleau? He finished +3 with four SOG, one goal and one assist.

Moving on to Thursday…

Hurricanes -120

Both the Carolina Hurricanes (4-4-2) and Colorado Avalanche (6-5) are sitting near the bottom of their conference, so it seems somewhat strange to recommend either one of them, especially since the Hurricanes have just one win in their last five contests. A closer look reveals Carolina is playing well, but the results have yet to materialize. Let's take a closer look:

Last time out, the Hurricanes hosted an Anaheim Duck team on the tail end of a back to back, ultimately falling short in the shootout and losing as a -165 favorite. The game before that, the sizzling St. Louis Blues went into Raleigh and came out with a 2-1 win. Carolina has lost by more than a goal in just one game, and that was a deceptive 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay, as it was just a one-goal game with less than three minutes to play.

It is only a matter of time before Carolina starts seeing better results, as they are the most disciplined team in the National Hockey League, having taken just 21 minors in 10 games. In fact, since surrendering seven power play opportunities to the Edmonton Oilers on October 17th, Carolina has been short-handed just four times in six games.

Colorado is off to a respectable start as they were due for a bit of positive regression, yet not much has changed with the team that owned a minus 1.35 goal differential last season. Colorado's 5-on-5 numbers reveal a team which struggles to produce, as their 2.00 adjusted xGF/60 ranks fourth-worst in the National Hockey League.

This is a good spot for an underrated Carolina team to impose their will on the Colorado Avalanche, who although have strung together a solid start, figure to be near the bottom of the league once again.

Fair Odds: Hurricanes -135

Nothing else on the ice for Thursday.

YTD: 13-11 +1.5 units

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