Hurricanes Will Dominate Coyotes

Hurricanes vs. Coyotes, 9:00 ET

I was able to get a win on the ice and now that leads me to think that my luck might just be turning around! You never know, and you always have to keep trying otherwise you're a quitter, and we don't want that, do we? Hockey has been the bane of my existence in sports betting over the course of this season, but that doesn't mean we can't head into the playoffs with progress and end up even or even up on the season as it comes to an end. I'm here to take on the game between the Hurricanes and Coyotes - the only game on the schedule for Friday. 

The Hurricanes come into tonight's contest with a 30-17-5 record and in second place within the Metropolitan Division. Carolina is a really solid team that has a good balance of points on their roster. Sure, Sebastian Aho is their best player and leads the team in points and goals, but the depth of the squad and ability for the entire team to get involved is amazing. The Hurricanes have seven guys that have scored 30 points on the year and another four that have scored at least 20 points. A lot of teams have one good line and a few others that do the best they can. The Hurricanes have a deep team, one that can compete through all the line changes. They are very good both offensively and defensively. They are holding opponents to just 2.89 goals against per game and limit opponents to just 25 shots per game. That's about five fewer shots per game than most teams. They also shoot about 33 shots per game which means they have eight more attempts per game than they are allowing. The Hurricanes are just 13-11-1 away from home ice this season. Many teams struggle on the road, but they are at least above .500. 

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 22: Detail of the Arizona Coyotes logo during the NHL game against the Vegas Golden Knights at Gila River Arena on January 22, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Golden Knights 5-2.  (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Coyotes were one of the worst teams in the NHL last season, but they've made a significant amount of progress this season and are 23-25-4. While that might not sound that great, they were 19-28-8 at this point in the season last year. While their record doesn't look that much better, the good news is that the Coyotes are playing better, even if it doesn't always translate to victories. This has been a particularly tough stretch for the Coyotes as well. They have lost seven straight games and only one of those went to overtime. In that span, they have been outscored 31-16 over those past seven contests. Five of those games have been on the road. Similarly to the Hurricanes, they have 11 guys that have already scored over 20 points this season. Four of them are over the 30 point mark and they are led by Clayton Keller who has 49 points. In comparison to the Hurricanes, they only have five guys with double-digit goals. Their offense isn't great but their defense has been even worse. They are allowing 32 shots per game and only taking about 27 shots.

If this game goes by averages, we should expect Carolina to win 3-2. With the Hurricanes taking 33 shots and the Coyotes allowing 32 shots I have to expect that Carolina will at least get to their average. To also reverse that, the Coyotes are only taking 27 shots per game and the Hurricanes are allowing just 25, Carolina will have a significant edge. In the first matchup, the Hurricanes took them down 3-1 as well. I know Carolina isn't great on the road, but I'm going to take them on the puck line as I think they take advantage of the struggling Coyotes. 

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