Hurricanes at Maple Leafs Odds, Expert Picks and Predictions for March 16th

Hurricanes at Maple Leafs Odds, Expert Picks and Predictions for March 16th

This article is part of our NHL Picks series.

NHL Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks and Props for Hurricanes at Maple Leafs

The Hurricanes (40-20-6) go north of the border to face the Maple Leafs (38-19-8) at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ont. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.

Carolina is coming off an impressive 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in a clash of titans in Raleigh. The Hurricanes have been rejuvenated since the NHL trade deadline, winning four of the past five games, while scoring four or more goals in each of those victories.

Jake Guentzel was arguably the biggest acquisition by any team at the deadline. He returned from the injured reserve to make his debut against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He was scoreless with a shot on goal, but he picked up an assist for his first Carolina point Thursday against Florida. Evgeny Kuznetsov, the other big add, scored his first goal for Carolina in the victory over the Panthers.

The Maple Leafs scored a 6-2 win in Philadelphia, winning three of the past four games. Toronto has won 12 of the past 15 games, securing 24 of a possible 30 points since Feb. 13.

These teams have met just once so far this season, with Carolina coming away with a 3-2 win in Toronto on Dec. 30 as a road favorite (-126) as the Under (6.5) cashed. Michael Bunting scored a power-play goal to open the scoring, but he is now in Pittsburgh. Seth Jarvis also had a PPG to make it 2-0, but Timothy Liljegren sliced the lead in half early in the third. Sebastian Aho had an empty-net goal, before Nick Robertson scored a late goal to make things somewhat interesting.

Pyotr Kochetkov (17-12-3, 2.35 GAA, .911 SV%, 3 SO) and Ilya Samsonov (18-5-6, 3.06 GAA, .889 SV%, 2 SO) are likely to face each other. Kochetkov had 25 saves in the win in Toronto, but it was Martin Jones making 25 saves for the home team. Samsonov won his only start against Carolina last season, allowing two goals on 34 shots March 17 in T-Dot.

The Hurricanes have managed to turn the tables in this series, winning the past two. The goaltending edge is in their favor, and Carolina has a lot more depth than Toronto, which is a tad top-heavy. Look for a narrow Canes win.

NHL Money Line Bets for Hurricanes at Maple Leafs

  • Hurricanes ML (-115 at DraftKings)

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As far as the total is concerned, Carolina has been hitting the Under rather frequently lately, and that's going to be the play. In fact, the Under is 4-1 in the past five games, while going 12-3-1 in the past 16 games, and 16-4-1 across the previous 21 contests.

In addition, the total is 7-0-1 in the past eight games on the road for the Hurricanes since cashing the Over in the nation's capital against Washington back on Jan. 5.

For the Leafs, the total cashed at home in the first meeting with the Canes on Dec. 30, with five combined goals on a total of 6.5. The Under is 4-1 in the past five games for Toronto, too, including each of the past two at home, and three of the previous four at Scotiabank Arena.

NHL Totals Bets for Hurricanes at Maple Leafs

  • Under 6 (+100 at Caesars)

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NHL Players Props for Hurricanes at Maple Leafs

Looking to the player props, while we're looking for a low-scoring game, and it generally isn't good practice to go low AND player Anytime Goal Scorers, we'll make the exception here, at least once.

Guentzel is getting more acclimated in the offense for the Hurricanes, and he picked up an assist with a plus-2 rating and three shots on goal with two blocked shots and three hits in 17:34 of ice time. Looking to the props, he is a good bet to over his shots on goal (SOG) total.

As far as the home side, William Nylander had a goal and an assist in Philadelphia last time out on Thursday, and he has four goals in the past seven games. He is a solid value as an Anytime Goal Scorer for the chance to nearly double up.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Dobish
Hockey writer, unskilled fourth liner, fantasy and gambling industry veteran, handicapper, FSWA's 2011 fantasy hockey writer of the year nominee and four-time FSWA award winner. Twitter: @danieledobish
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