The Colorado Avalanche look to strengthen their case for top spot in the Western Conference as they seek their fifth straight win Friday at Carolina. The Avalanche continue to be in hot pursuit of the conference-leading St. Louis Blues but could find the going tough against a Hurricanes team that has been red-hot against Central Division foes over the years.
- Date/Time: February 28, 7 p.m. ET
- Arena: PNC Arena
- TV Coverage: ALT, FS-CR
- Sportsbook Odds: Avalanche -123 | O/U 6
- Avalanche vs Hurricanes Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Avalanche opened as slight favorites but are now the underdog as Carolina soared to -115 in most spots. The O6 is set at -115, while the U6 is listed at -105.
Colorado News & Notes
Having a top-flight offense can take you far – but as the Avalanche and several other elite teams have shown, you have to stop the puck to have a shot at home-ice advantage in the postseason. And you can put Colorado near the top of that list; the Avs have surrendered just 2.69 goals per game and have limited foes to four combined goals over the course of their four-game winning streak.
And while the Avalanche have a robust offense (3.45 goals per game) to match their sensational defense, there’s still room for growth on that front. Colorado enters Friday’s road encounter with a middling power-play success rate of 19.2 percent, though it has been slightly better in February with a 21.6 percent conversion rate for the month.
Carolina News & Notes
The Hurricanes have enough points to secure a postseason spot in the Western Conference; unfortunately, they play in the East, where they find themselves at the tail end of a logjam for the conference’s two wild-card spots. And consistency has been elusive for Carolina, which has alternated wins and losses over its past seven games.
But while the Hurricanes have struggled to string together good games, their leading scorer has had no such difficulty. Sebastian Aho continues to be one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season, ranking fifth in the league with 36 goals; five of them have come in the past five games, and he has 11 goals in 11 games so far in February.
Betting Pick: UNDER
The Avalanche have been a truly impressive UNDER play of late – and even with the Hurricanes averaging 3.45 goals per game this month, we don’t see these sides surpassing the six-goal threshold.
- Colorado is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games.
- Carolina is 15-5 SU in its past 20 games vs Central Division foes.
- The UNDER is 10-1 in Colorado’s past 11 games.
