Two teams that have put themselves squarely in playoff contention, the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes clash at PNC Arena. MSG2 will broadcast this divisional matchup, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, February 21.
New York Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes Odds
Carolina enters the game as the substantial favorite with a -170 moneyline. The line for New York sits at +150, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-125 to bet the under, +105 for the over) at PointsBet.
The Hurricanes are 34-25 straight up (SU) and have lost 1.9 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Out of its 59 regular season outings, 31 of them have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and none have pushed. The team is 19-11 SU at home this season.
Carolina’s converted on 21.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all penalties.
Carolina, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.9 times per game overall this season, 3.6 per game over its past five contests total, and 4.4 per game over its last five home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.7 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Boasting a .905 save percentage and 24.8 saves per game, Petr Mrazek (20-17-2) has been the most dependable goalkeeper for the Hurricanes this season. If the Canes choose to rest him, however, head coach Rod Brind Amour could go with James Reimer (14-10-10 record, .914 save percentage, 2.67 goals against average).
The Canes will continue relying on leadership via Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Aho (57 points) has tallied 34 goals and 23 assists and has recorded two or more points on 14 separate occasions this year. Teravainen has 12 goals and 44 assists to his name and has notched a point in 39 games.
New York has netted 10.1 units for moneyline bettors this season and is currently 31-28 straight up (SU). Through 59 regular season outings, 30 of its games have gone under the total, while 27 have gone over and just two have pushed. New York’s 15-13 SU as a road team this season.
New York has scored on 23.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the top-five among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.8 percent of all penalties.
New York’s skaters have been called for penalties 4.3 times per game in total this season, and 3.2 per game over their past ten games. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 6.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Henrik Lundqvist (27.6 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for New York. Lundqvist has 11 wins, 17 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit, while registering a .907 save percentage and 3.12 goals against average this year.
Artemi Panarin (30 goals, 49 assists) has been one of the primary playmaking threats for the visiting Rangers.
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Rangers, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their past five matches.
Penalties and power plays could prove to be even more key than usual in this matchup. The Rangers are 11-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-13 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Hurricanes are 9-5 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 21-16 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
New York is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Carolina is 5-0 in shootouts.
Carolina skaters have forced 10.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 9.4 takeaways per game (ranked 3rd).
New York is ranked ninth in the league this season with 8.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as it’s created 6.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.6 takeaways over its last five.