Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/18/26

The Pittsburgh Penguins meet the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina at 7:00 pm ET. This is the third meeting of the season, with the home team winning each of the first 2 installments. Pittsburgh won 5-1 on Dec. 30 as slight underdogs (+110), while Carolina posted a 5-4 win in a shootout last Tuesday as heavy favorites (-210), as the Pens cashed as underdogs on the puck line. The winning team in each of the past six meetings in this series has scored at least four goals, with the Over going 2-0-1 in the past three in the series, if you’re looking for same-game parlay (SGP) possibilities.

Carolina suffered a stunning 5-1 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night with rookie Brandon Bussi in between the pipes. Suddenly, the rookie has dropped three straight starts, and Carolina is just 2-3-0 in the past five outings. They’re expected to turn to veteran Frederik Andersen in the second end of the back-to-back. The Canes have won three straight starts with Andersen in between the pipes, and 4-1-0 in his past five starts since the Olympic break. Carolina is 24-9-2 on home ice, while Pittsburgh is 18-9-7 on the road. Let’s go with the Canes at home as moderate favorites, but don’t get carried away.

Penguins vs Hurricanes prediction: Carolina ML (-160) available at time of publishing. Playable to -170.