The Carolina Hurricanes begin a mini two-game road trip with a stop in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The defending Stanley Cup champions have picked up right where they left off, winning three of their first five games, allowing opponents just 12 shots on goal, and operating at close to 30% on the power play. They are a complete hockey team that loves to get pucks deep and outwork their opponents.
The Blackhawks are 1-4-0 to start the young season, but their lone win came on home ice. Injuries have plagued the team, and Frank Nazar will miss tonight’s game as he begins serving his two-game suspension. Chicago isn’t an offensive threat, and while they are giving up over 4 goals per game, most of that damage has come on the road. They are better in front of their own fans, so we might not see a barnburner. Still, the Blackhawks need to find a way to keep the puck out of their own net, and it starts with being disciplined and keeping the Hurricanes’ forwards to the outside. We’ll go with the Under here and hope both goalies come ready to play.
Hurricanes vs Blackhawks prediction: Under 6.0 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
