Carolina Hurricanes (14-11-1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (17-9-1)
The 2023-24 NHL season goes on Saturday, December 9, with a huge 12-game slate including the interconference showdown at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, so here’s the best Hurricanes vs. Canucks pick.
Carolina meets Vancouver for the first time this term. The Hurricanes open as -120 moneyline favorites with a total of 6.5 goals, while the Canucks are +105 home underdogs.
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The Carolina Hurricanes have only won one of their previous five games overall. After a 6-2 victory to the Buffalo Sabres on December 2, the Canes started a six-game road trip and dropped three straight contests at the Winnipeg Jets 2-1, Edmonton Oilers 6-1, and Calgary Flames 3-2.
Last Thursday, Carolina blew a two-goal lead at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, allowing the Flames to score three unanswered goals in the third period. Stefan Noesen and Michael Bunting scored a goal apiece for the Canes, while Pyotr Kochetkov yielded three goals on 27 shots.
The Hurricanes are without their starting goalie Frederik Andersen, who’s on the IR. Pyotr Kochetkov is 4-6-1 with a 3.12 GA A and a .873 save percentage this season, while Antti Raanta is 6-4-0 with a 3.33 GAA and a .863 save percentage. Carolina scores 3.23 goals per game (tied-15th in the NHL) while surrendering 3.31 goals in return (tied-20th).