Visiting Carolina Favored In Clash of Stanley Cup Contenders

The Hurricanes vs Leafs Preview Has Huge Weekend Clash Approaching Pick'Em Status

High-scoring Winger Marner Is Questionable For Key Saturday Tilt

Two of the Eastern Conference title contenders will be getting together for the first time in 2024 when the puck is dropped between Toronto and Carolina on Saturday night. The Hurricanes vs Leafs preview has the game approaching Pick’em status.

Carolina took the lead with a pair of power-play goals in a 3-2 win on Dec. 30. Even though both teams scored in the final minute, the game still fell short of the 6.5-goal total.

The NHL betting line has Carolina priced at -118 to win the game outright, with +205 odds to the Hurricanes to cover against the puck line as 1.5-goal favorites. Toronto is at -102 to win the game and pick up their 19th home victory of the season.

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When looking at the current hockey standings, Carolina is in second place in the Metropolitan Division standings while Toronto holds down third place in the Atlantic Division.

Carolina is fourth at +900 in the Stanley Cup odds with Toronto tied for eighth at +1400 in the championship odds.

Keep reading for one of the more intriguing NHL matchups on Saturday.

Hurricanes logo Hurricanes vs Maple Leafs Maple Leafs logo

Day/Time:
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ONT
Streaming: Bally Sports South, Sportsnet, ESPN+

Hurricanes Weathering the Storm

The Carolina Hurricanes appear to be preparing for a playoff run, as they haven’t allowed more than two goals in each of the last five games despite dealing with injuries at the goaltender and defenseman positions.

Carolina hasn’t surrendered a goal in the last five periods in games against the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers, the two Eastern Conference division leaders.

Frederik Andersen, who returned to the ice after missing more than four months, has led the way with a 3-0 record and a goals-against average of 1.01 while stopping 63 of 66 shots over his last three games.

Only one skater has a negative plus/minus rating over the Hurricanes’ last five games. Keep that in mind when preparing for the Hurricanes vs. Leafs preview.

The total went under in nine of Carolina’s last 11 games.

Matthews Getting Some Help

When looking at the NHL games tonight, keep in mind that the goal-scoring pace for Toronto’s Hart Trophy candidate Auston Matthews has slowed down as he has two goals in his last six games, and he has gone 10 consecutive games without scoring on the power play. However, Toronto is 7-3 in those games.

It helps that the offense is coming from other places.

William Nylander and John Tavares are tied for the team lead with three goals in March, with Tavares also leading the Maple Leafs with 24 shots on goal. That is something to consider when looking at the Hurricanes vs Leafs preview.

Max Domi leads the team with five points over the last six games, and his four assists match defenseman Morgan Reilly’s team-best total. Domi could be a player to keep an eye on when it comes to the prop bets or parlays.

The total went under in four of Toronto’s last five games.

Last Meeting

Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov assisted on power-play goals by Michael Bunting and Seth Jarvis as visiting Carolina never trailed in the late December matchup.

A goal by Nicholas Robertson made things interesting with 10 seconds to play, but Toronto was unable to get another shot on goal as the Hurricanes escaped with the one-goal win.

Hurricanes vs Maple Leafs Betting Preview

This could be an entertaining matchup considering that Carolina has the third-best points percentage since the start of January with Toronto being tied for the fourth-best mark during that stretch. The Hurricanes have the best goals-against average in that time with the Toronto Maple Leafs among the league leaders on the power play since the beginning of January. That has played a role in the total for this game, which is currently at 5.5 goals.

Toronto’s Mitchell Marner and Carolina’s Jack Drury are both questionable for the game. The recently acquired Jake Guentzel is out for Carolina as is Toronto defenseman Mark Giordano.

Six of the last nine games between the Hurricanes and the Maple Leafs went over the total. That began with an action-packed 8-6 win by Toronto, as 47 goals were scored the last six times Carolina played at Toronto.

Carolina is 14-2 in its last 16 games against Eastern Conference teams and has won 10 of the last 11 versus Atlantic Division teams.

The total has gone under in each of Carolina’s last five road games. However, four of Toronto’s last five games against Metropolitan Division teams went over the total.

Just three of the last 13 games between Carolina and Toronto have been decided by one goal. With the way these teams are playing, that could change on Saturday.

Go with the Maple Leafs to cover as the 1.5-goal underdogs at home, even though they have covered in just four of their last nine games as home underdogs.

For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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