Free NHL Picks Today: Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche 11/17/22

The Carolina Hurricanes (10-5-1) welcome the Colorado Avalanche (8-5-1) at PNC Arena on Thursday. Colorado is kicking off a four-game road trip coming off a 3-2 loss against the Blues on Monday, ending a streak of four wins in a row.

The Avalanche committed only two penalties in the game, yet still conceded a power play goal. Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen each scored once for the Avalanche. Rantanen added an assist to share the scoring lead with Cale Makar, who had two assists.

Alexandar Georgiev saved 36 of 39 shots in the loss. Carolina beat the Blackhawks 3-0 on Monday. Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, and Andrei Svechnikov scored one apiece for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov earned the shutout with 27 saves.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Avalanche won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 4-1 victory on November 12. Rantanen led Colorado with four points (1G 3A). Staal scored Carolina’s only goal. Pavel Francouz got the win, saving 24 of 25 shots (.960%).

FACING OFF

Colorado is averaging 3.57 goals per game for the season, eighth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Hurricanes team that is allowing 2.69 goals a game (7th). Meanwhile, Carolina has found the net 3.00 times a game on average, 20th in the league, and the Avalanche are allowing opponents to score 2.71 goals per game (8th).

Carolina averages more shots a game (35.8) than most teams in the league, ranking fourth, though the team’s 8.7% shooting percentage is 28th. With an average of 33.6 attempts, Colorado ranks eighth. The Avalanche’s 36.96% power play percentage is the best in the league, while the Hurricanes rank 27th with a conversion rate of 16.13%.

While strong on the power play, Colorado has been poor at penalty killing, as the away team possesses the league’s third-lowest PK% at 70.83%. Carolina’s 77.97% ranks 19th in the NHL.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Rantanen (25 points), Nathan MacKinnon (24), and Makar (18) have been the top skaters this season for the Avalanche. Rantanen and MacKinnon are the fourth- and seventh-leading point scorers in the NHL.

Rantanen is among the league leaders with his 11 goals (5th), while MacKinnon leads the league with 20 assists. Makar has also been an offensive leader for Colorado, scoring three and assisting 15. In the net, Francouz (1-3-0) is Colorado’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.55 GAA and a .912% save percentage. Georgiev (7-1-1) leads the Avalanche in games played in goal.

He has a GAA of 2.66 and a save percentage of .924%.Martin Necas and Svechnikov lead the Hurricanes in scoring with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Necas has seven goals and 12 assists in 16 games, while Svechnikov has 12 goals (3rd) and six assists () in 16 games.

Antti Raanta (3-2-1) has the best goals against average for Carolina at 2.47. He has a save percentage of .911%. Frederik Andersen (5-3-0) has played the most games in net for the Hurricanes this season. He has a 2.72 GAA and a .891% save percentage.