Nashville Predators at Carolina Hurricanes Betting Preview

The Carolina Hurricanes will once again host the Nashville Predators on Thursday night after the two teams met up on Tuesday night. Carolina is one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now, while the Nashville Predators have been a major disappointment. 

Nashville has now lost four of their last five games, and the playoffs don’t seem to be in the cards for the Predators this season. The Predators have managed to pick up just 23 points on the year, which has them in sixth place in the Central Division. 

Carolina has rattled off six straight wins, and they are proving why they were a Stanley Cup title contender to begin the season. The Hurricanes come into this game with 37 points on the year, second to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Central. 

The Carolina Panthers are -246 in this matchup with the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. 

Predators Can’t Find Scoring

The Nashville Predators are averaging just 2.26 goals per game, and that just won’t get it done on a consistent basis in the NHL. Nashville is also allowing more than 3.1 goals per game, and that has caused them to get blown out several times throughout the year.

Filip Forsberg has done all that he can do for the Predators, leading the team with 10 goals and 17 assists. Nashville just recently put Roman Josi on injured reserve, and that won’t make scoring goals any easier. 

Goaltender Pekka Rinne has really struggled in the blue paint this year, stopping just 90 percent of the shots he has faced. He hasn’t gotten much help from his defense, but the Predators expect more from the veteran. 

Carolina Cruising Through Central Division

The Carolina Hurricanes have taken advantage of the division re-alignment this year in the NHL, and they have feasted on teams in the Central. Carolina is scoring 3.36 goals per game while allowing just 2.6 per contest.

Vincent Trocheck leads the team with 13 goals, and defenseman Dougie Hamilton has a team-high 17 assists. This offense has been terrific on the power play, converting on nearly 30 percent of their attempts.

Carolina will give up some goals, but they want to play an uptempo style of hockey. Their depth should give the Predators some issues on Thursday night. 

Hurricanes Hammer Predators

Carolina is on a roll right now, and betting against them is simply not a good play at this time. The money line wager for Carolina doesn’t offer a ton of value, but there is a way to win big in this game.

Nashville just has not been able to put pucks in the back of the net all season long, and that isn’t going to change in this game. Carolina can score, and they will light the lamp several times on Thursday night.

The Panthers were only able to win by one goal on Tuesday night but look for there to be at least three goals between the two teams on Thursday night. The best bet in this game is to take the Carolina Hurricanes -2.5 over the Nashville Predators.

Keep up with your latest NHL news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.