MetroBet dishes out advice on the best bets for the Thursday night NHL slate.
Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers
Moneyline: Hurricanes -105, Flyers -115
Puckline: Hurricanes +1.5 goals (-260), Flyers -1.5 goals (+230)
Betting Total: 6.0 goals (Over -110, Under -110)
Time (Eastern): 7 p.m.
Both the Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers are tumbling down the Eastern Conference standings, as they’ve each lost seven of their last 10 games. But while the teams may not be bet-able right now, there’s a prime opportunity regarding the total in this game.
Philly is around the .500 mark when it comes to Over/Under record (21-18), but they’ve failed to exceed the total in eight of their last 10 contests. Carolina has been an Under bettor’s best friend this season, posting a 12-26 Over/Under record. The Hurricanes have been getting solid production from veteran goalie Curtis McElhinney of late, as he currently boasts a 2.22 goals against average and has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his last nine appearances (5-3-1, .941 save percentage), per Covers.com.
Power plays don’t get much worse than those of these two clubs, as Carolina is 0-for-25 over their last seven games. Meanwhile, Philly is 30th in the league in power play percentage and has scored with the man advantage just twice over their last 29 opportunities (10 game span). It would be shocking to a see a wild, back-and-forth game here.
Prediction: Hurricanes win, 2-1
The play: Hurricanes at Flyers Under 6.0 goals and Islanders moneyline Parlay (+207)
Chicago Blackhawks at New York Islanders
Moneyline: Blackhawks +145, Islanders -165
Puckline: Blackhawks +1.5 goals (-190), Islanders -1.5 goals (+165)
Betting Total: 6.0 goals (Over -115, Under -105)
Time (Eastern), TV: 7:30 p.m., NBCSN
The Islanders were on the road in seven of their final eight games of 2018, but they played to a 7-1 record. New York should enjoy a return trip to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night, as they’ll host the bottom-feeding Blackhawks.
Chicago has been playing better over their last 10 games (6-4), but they’re still allowing over six shots more per game than they take. They can’t afford to be sloppy on defense against the stingy Islanders, who’ve yielded just 1.80 goals per game over their last 10 contests. Robin Lehner, who has taken the bulk of the starts as Thomas Greiss has been cold of late, has stopped 140 of the last 143 shots against him.
New York may be without Valtteri Filppula (day-to-day, upper body) in this game in addition to Jordan Eberle being out, but Mathew Barzal has more than picked up the slack by notching nine points over his last five tilts.
Prediction: Islanders win, 3-2
The play: Hurricanes at Flyers Under 6.0 goals and Islanders moneyline Parlay (+207)
