Do the Canes remain the No.2 in the East?

Hurricane warning for New York, but only for the Islanders and not in the Big Apple, but right in Carolina. Head coach Barry Trotz’s squad has to play the No. 2 team in the conference on Friday, and that matchup hasn’t been going well for them lately.

They are winless against the Canes since five games and also lost the only duel so far this season with 3:6.Although Carolina comes from two losses in the last five days, but just that should make them even more dangerous for Friday night, even if they stumbled a bit in the last weeks.

All in all, the Canes are still the clear favourites. They have only lost ten games at home this season. With +64, they also have a 61-goal better goal difference than their opponents from New York.

For Hurricanes vs. Islanders, our prediction is therefore also another success for the home team. Carolina would thus defend second place in the conference and warm up for the playoffs. A goal that is already out of reach for the Isles.

Carolina Hurricanes – Statistics & Current Form

The Hurricanes are a bit out of step, but that is mainly for their results and efficiency. They still dominate their opponents at will and are often the team with more goals, even in defeats.

However, they don’t find the target as often as they did at the beginning of the season. But that’s just complaining at a high level – their goal difference is still +64, which is the second best value in the entire Eastern Conference.

Defence still outstanding

The slight offensive weakness is also offset by their strong defence. With 2.37 goals against per game, they still rank first in the entire NHL. Their last two games against Minnesota and Buffalo stand out somewhat negatively.

Goalie Frederik Andersen did not cut a very good figure either, with 84.2% and 81.8% respectively below the 85% mark in terms of save percentage. However, it has hardly ever happened this season that he has three weak games in a row.

Low scoring game expected

With the Islanders also ranked among the top 5 teams in the league defensively, Friday could be a low-scoring duel. Especially then, it is important to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, as just three goals could be enough to win.

Since the Canes are still 0.53 goals per game ahead of the Isles despite their recent scoring drought, we see them with clear advantages here. For Carolina vs. New York, a bet on the home team is therefore our clear betting recommendation in this matchup.

Key Players:
G: Frederik Andersen
D: Jaccob Slavin
D: Brett Pesce
LW: Andrei Svechnikov
C: Sebastian Aho
RW: Teuvo Teravainen

New York Islanders – Statistics & current form

“Too late, too late” the Doctors once sang in one of their songs in the 80s and that’s exactly the case with the Islanders’ rise in form. They have now won six of their last ten games.

If they had managed this percentage over the entire season, they would even have made the playoffs, but they have already missed 99.9% of them. And this minimal remaining chance only really applies if they win every game from now on and the Caps totally collapse – very unlikely.

Canes not the Isles’ favourite opponent

With that said, it’s now just a matter of New York bowing out of this season in decent fashion. However, each additional win diminishes their chances of a good draft position. So their incentive to win is significantly lower than that of the Hurricanes.

In addition, the men from Carolina are not considered the best matchup for the Islanders. The last five duels were all lost, the only one this season even very clearly with 3:6. The shot ratio of that time should also not give New York much hope. It was 41:28 per Carolina.

The goalies matter

With the Canes giving up a lot of shots per game at 33.8, it will come down to the Isles’ goalies again in this game. Whether it’s Varlamov or Sorokin, it doesn’t make much difference with their current form.

In any case, the playing goalkeeper must have a top game (over 92% save percentage) for the Isles to have a chance. Since we don’t expect that to happen, odds on the Hurricanes are our favoured betting option on Carolina vs New York.

Key Players:
G: Semyon Varlamov
D: Zdeno Chara
D: Noah Dobson
LW: Anders Lee
C: Brock Nelson
RW: Anthony Beauvillier

Carolina Hurricanes – New York Islanders Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

The Hurricanes have historically had very good experiences with the Isles. Especially in recent years, they have regularly had the New Yorkers under control. The Isles’ last win against the Canes dates back to 2018.

In October 2021, the Canes won the last duel clearly with 6:3 and even if the Isles have become a bit more stable since then, we still see them far from being on par with Carolina.

So for Hurricanes vs Islanders a bet on the home team is possible in several variants. Either as a pure win bet or as a combination bet with sub-points. We think that it is unlikely that the 6.5 goals will be exceeded in this matchup.

Carolina Hurricanes – New York Islanders Tip

The Canes have the best defence in the NHL and they also score 0.53 more goals per game offensively than the Islanders. While they have only won four of their last ten games, with the exception of the Sabres, all of those losses have come against very strong teams.

For them to lose again at home to a non-playoff team would be a big surprise. So the Canes vs. Isles odds are definitely bettable on Carolina and we should take advantage of the still quite high odds on a win (up to 1.93).

Alternatively, sub-points are always an option for two top defensive teams. The top defence will face the NHL’s No.5 defence on Friday and so we see tips on Under 5.5 total goals as a very good betting option.