The Carolina Hurricanes (12-6-5) travel to take on the St. Louis Blues (11-11-0) at Enterprise Center on Thursday. Carolina is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Penguins on Tuesday. The Hurricanes committed only two penalties in the game, holding Pittsburgh without a power play goal.
Brett Pesce, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas each scored once for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov had a great performance with 30 saves (.937%) in the win.
St. Louis fell 4-1 to the Stars on Monday. Brandon Saad was the only player to score for the Blues. Jordan Binnington saved only 20 of 23 shots against (.869%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Hurricanes won both games between the teams last season, including a 7-2 victory in their final meeting in March. Seven players had two points for Carolina. Pavel Buchnevich (2G 0A) and Robert Thomas (0G 2A) each had two points to lead St. Louis. Antti Raanta got the win, saving 30 of 32 shots (.937%).
FACING OFF
Carolina is averaging 2.70 goals per game for the season, 28th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Blues team that is allowing 3.55 goals a game (26th). Meanwhile, St. Louis has found the net 2.82 times a game on average, 24th in the league, and the Hurricanes are allowing opponents to score 2.74 goals per game (8th).
Carolina averages more shots a game (35.4) than most teams in the league, ranking third, though the team’s 7.9% shooting percentage is 32nd. St. Louis’ average of 30.2 attempts ranks 22nd. The Blues’ 22.03% power play percentage ranks 16th in the league, while the Hurricanes are 27th with a conversion rate of 16.47%.
St. Louis has been poor at penalty killing, as the home team possesses the league’s third-lowest PK% at 69.39%. Carolina’s 80.00% ranks 15th in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 25 points apiece this season, Necas (11G 14A) and Sebastian Aho (9G 16A) are the top skaters for the Hurricanes. In the net, Raanta (4-2-2) is Carolina’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.47 GAA and a .901% save percentage.
Thomas and Jordan Kyrou lead the Blues in scoring with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Thomas has four goals and 15 assists, while Kyrou has nine goals and nine assists in 22 games. Binnington (9-8-0) is the top goalie for St. Louis with a goals against average of 3.05. He has a save percentage of .900%.
HOME AND AWAY
Carolina is 7-3-4 away from PNC Arena this season. St. Louis is 5-5-0 at Enterprise Center this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Carolina Hurricanes (-140)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
