Face-off: 1900 ET, 17/03/2022
Arena: Scotiabank Arena
Toronto and Carolina are both heading for the playoffs and have been in solid form of late, so a close encounter is on the cards at Scotiabank Arena.
Their last head-to-head meeting went to overtime at this venue just over five weeks ago, when the Maple Leafs shaded a 4-3 success.
We reckon they are hard to split again and 4.1 for another draw after regular time heads our Toronto Maple Leafs vs Carolina Hurricanes predictions.
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Toronto Maple Leafs Odds
Toronto are 6-3-1 from their last 10 outings after beating Dallas 4-0 here on Tuesday, a result which kept them third in the Atlantic Division.
John Tavares had a goal and an assist, while Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly each posted two assists.
However, Swedish goalie Erik Kallgren stole the show by making 35 saves for a shutout on his first NHL start.
The 25-year-old beamed: “It feels good. A lot of emotions but I’m really happy for the win.”
Leading marksman Auston Matthews missed that match through suspension and is still banned for this contest, though.
His absence may be felt more keenly against higher-class opposition and 12.0 for a 3-2 away win takes the eye from the NHL odds, with overtime and penalties included if required.
Carolina Hurricanes Odds
Carolina rattled off four consecutive victories before being pegged back by a 4-2 defeat at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
The Hurricanes battled hard against the in-form Penguins and only trailed by one until conceding an empty-netter with 12 seconds left on the clock.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour said: “Guys play hard. They never stop playing hard. That’s what I appreciate the most, really.
“We’re down in that game. On the next shift, guys just come out and try, play our game. I thought we stuck with it for the 60 minutes, even if it didn’t work out.”
It was always going to be a tough task to back-up after beating Philadelphia the previous day, so we don’t think there was any disgrace in that defeat.
Carolina are six points clear at the top of the Metropolitan Division and could well be on a collision course with Toronto in the playoffs.
Tony DeAngelo is not quite ready to return from injury, but Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen and Vincent Trochek are all in good nick.
The Hurricanes have been outstanding late on in matches this term, scoring 74 third-period goals and conceding a league-low 41 times in the last section, four fewer than any other team.
Let’s add 2.5 for the visitors to win the final stanza to our Toronto Maple Leafs vs Carolina Hurricanes predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
TORONTO 4-0 Dallas
Pittsburgh 4-2 CAROLINA
Season head-to-head: Toronto 4-3 Carolina, Carolina 4-1 Toronto
