Nathan MacKinnon stays hot against Carolina with key goal in low-scoring game
The Avalanche came close to beating the Blueshirts Monday night in their return to action but were bested by a streaking Alexis Lafreniere who cut across the middle and put the puck just past the stick of Alexandar Georgiev. The Bulgarian-born Russian netminder may have a chance to redeem himself against the Hurricanes, who’ve started to figure things out as of late.
They went into the season with high expectations that didn’t appear they were gonna be met with a middling 17-13-4 record but since have turned things on with 11 wins in their following 15 games and have seen their offense rising into the top six.
Colorado has also been hot since mid-December with a 16-6-2 record in their last 24 games and the league’s top offense averaging 4.13 goals during that span. Both teams have dynamic offenses but when playing each other, have surprisingly low-scoring games with five or fewer goals in eight of their last ten matchups.
It’ll be a tight matchup once again and a fun one to watch. If you want to get in on the Thursday night action, here are some of our best bets that should have you going into Friday with good vibes.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly.
Pick: Under 6.5 goals (-120)
The netminders will be the difference makers in this one with both playing at another level as of late with Hurricanes expected netminder Pyotr Kochetkov on fire with a record of 7-2-2 and a goals against average of 2.15 over his last 12 games.
Not to mention, if the Avs do stick with Georgiev for the second straight night then the Canes go against the netminder no other All-Star wanted to go against during the Skills competition and for good reason with a goals against average of 2.51 and a save percentage of .916 in his last eight games. Both goalies should be the difference maker and hold this game to the ninth under in the last 11 meetings between these two teams.
Pick: Nathan MacKinnon anytime goal (+110)
It always feels easy to ride with the league’s hottest player as MacKinnon has 13 goals and 27 points in his 14 games and even scored in his first game since the All-Star break on Monday, when he scored the Avs only goal of the game.
The Cole Harbour native has a great history against the Canes with four goals in their last four matchups and should get one past Kochetkov, who’s allowed three goals in two straight starts. In a low-scoring game, the Avs should lean on their top players and MacKinnon has lead the way with seven game-winning goals this season.