Free NHL Picks Today: Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes 11/25/22

The Boston Bruins (17-3-0), one of the NHL’s weakest power play offenses, host the Carolina Hurricanes (10-6-4) and their suffocating penalty killing defense at TD Garden on Friday.

Carolina is coming off a 4-0 loss against the Coyotes on Wednesday, their fourth straight defeat. The Hurricanes committed four penalties in the game, though they held Arizona without a power play goal.

Pyotr Kochetkov only had 23 saves on 26 shots against (.884%) in the loss. Boston is playing the first of five games at home after a 5-2 loss against the Panthers on Wednesday, snapping a seven-game winning streak. David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy each scored once for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman saved only 26 of 30 shots against (.866%) in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The teams last met in the first round of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Hurricanes secured their place in the second round with a 3-2 win (4-3 series).

FACING OFF

Carolina is averaging 2.70 goals per game for the season, 27th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Bruins team that is allowing only 2.25 goals a game (1st). Meanwhile, Boston has found the net 4.05 times a game on average, first in the league, and the Hurricanes are allowing opponents to score 2.80 goals per game (11th).

Both teams average more shots a game than most teams in the league. Carolina ranks No. 4 with 35.3 attempts, while Boston’s 34.2 average ranks fifth. The Bruins have proven equally adept at stopping shots with a team save percentage of .926% (3rd), while the Hurricanes have stopped only .899% of attempts (26th).

The Bruins’ 30.26% power play percentage is the second-best in the league, while the Hurricanes rank 31st with a conversion rate of only 13.51%. Boston has been equally successful at penalty killing, boasting the league’s second-highest PK% at 85.71%. Carolina ranks 16th at 79.71%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 23 and 22 points this season, Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho have been the top skaters for the Hurricanes. Both have nine goals in 20 games. Necas also has 14 assists, while Aho has set up 13 goals for teammates. In the net, Antti Raanta (3-2-2) is Carolina’s top goaltender by goals against average.

He has a 2.54 GAA and a .902% save percentage. Frederik Andersen (5-3-0) leads the Hurricanes in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 2.72 and a save percentage of .891%.Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring with 30 points (4th in the league).

He has 13 goals (6th in the league) and 17 assists (9th) in 20 games. Linus Ullmark (13-1-0) is the top goalie for Boston with a goals against average of 1.96, best in the league. He has a save percentage of .935%, second-best.