Bruins vs Hurricanes Betting Preview: Game 1

You can’t have a Bruins vs Hurricanes betting preview for the highly anticipated first-round playoff matchup that starts on Monday night in Carolina without bringing up Frederik Andersen. The Carolina Hurricanes’ starting goalie — who ranked in the top three in the NHL — is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will miss Game 1. Antti Raanta will start in his stead that gives Boston a boost as the underdog.

Bruins Have Health Edge

If you’re making 2022 NHL playoff predictions, the Boston Bruins are a sneaky good pick to make a deep run despite being a wild card team. The top of their lineup with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak is as good as it gets in hockey and they have solid skater depth. Also, the emergence of Jeremy Swayman in net and surprisingly good play from career backup Linus Ullmark has given Boston two great options in goal.

Statistically speaking, Boston didn’t have an electric offense during the season as the Bruins were in the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored. But, in the playoffs, with their star players getting more ice time, the Bruins are a very scary opponent. They should be able to flex their top-end talent, continuity and significant playoff experience.

Hurricanes Missing Andersen

As evidenced by their monster season and Metropolitan Division title, the Carolina Hurricanes were one of the best teams in the league from start to finish, and are a popular Eastern Conference champion pick for NHL playoffs. However, a lot of that success was surely due to Frederik Andersen, who was second in the league in goals-against average and tied for third in save percentage.

Without him ready to go for the opening game, the series looks a lot more even. Raanta is a very good No. 2 netminder who had a great season as well but he’s no Andersen. So, if Carolina is going to be able to withstand Andersen’s absence, it’ll be because Raanta stepped up and the Hurricanes’ balanced offensive attack was able to get going.

Bruins vs Hurricanes Head-to-Head

The Carolina Hurricanes dominated their head-to-head matchups with the Boston Bruins in the 2021-22 campaign, winning all three games easily. Carolina outscored Boston 16-1 in their three meetings, which is definitely important to consider in a Bruins vs Hurricanes betting preview.  Carolina has had Boston’s number.

Bruins vs Hurricanes Game Information

• Game: Boston Bruins (0-0) at Carolina Hurricanes (0-0)
• Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
• Day/Time: Monday, 7 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN

Bruins vs Hurricanes Prediction

Even without Andersen available, the Carolina Hurricanes are slight home favorites for Game 1. Any Bruins vs Hurricanes betting preview hinges heavily on goaltender health, for sure, and Andersen’s injury throws a huge wrench in how this series looks from the outset.

If there’s any team in the NHL that can handle going to its backup goalie and getting out to a quick start with home-ice advantage, it’s the Hurricanes. They were 29-8-4 at home and can roll out four pretty good lines at any given moment. Plus, their style of play limits high-danger shots for opponents, which could make things easier for Antti Raanta.

So, Carolina straight-up — even against Boston’s scary top two lines — is probably the safe play. Also, since both teams have solid goaltending and strong defenses, the under is a good pick as well. Look for it to be a tough, low-scoring game that Carolina is able to pull out at home.