Face-off: 1900 ET, 21/04/2022
Arena: PNC Arena
Carolina will look to make it two wins in a row when hosting Winnipeg and reclaim second place in the Eastern Conference from Toronto.
A Hurricanes win and a Maple Leafs loss to Tampa Bay would see them leapfrog Toronto into second behind runaway leaders Florida.
The Jets’ playoff hopes are fading fast and anything other than a win would bring their post-season prospects to an end.
We’re going with a home win by one goal at 7.75 for the first of our Carolina Hurricanes vs Winnipeg Jets predictions.
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Carolina Hurricanes Odds
The Hurricanes are in a two-way battle with the New York Rangers for the Metropolitan Division title.
The two teams are neck and neck on 106 points as the battle for playoffs seedings intensifies.
Carolina have been hit by injuries at the wrong time as forwards Jordan Staal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have been sidelined, alongside starting goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour does not think Staal and Kotkaniemi are far off a return, however.
Staal did skate earlier in the week but did not play against Arizona and Brind’Amour said: “It’s a good sign. We never knew what was going to happen after that game and I think we’re day-to-day with him.”
On Kotkaniemi, who was hurt again the game after returning from an eight-match lay-off, Brind’Amour added: “He kind of got nicked up again, so he’s not 100 per cent. I don’t envision him being out too long.”
Andersen, though, is another story after he left the ice in pain during last week’s defeat to Colorado.
Brind’Amour said: “That’ll be probably re-evaluated in about a week. We’ll get a sense of where he’s at then.”
Despite those concerns, Carolina can keep their push for top spot alive with a victory with over 5.5 total goals at 2.2 from the NHL odds.
Winnipeg Jets Odds
Winnipeg are 10 points adrift of Dallas for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference with five games to play.
They head into the game on a three-match losing streak and have only won three times in the last 10 as their season is petering out.
Winnipeg will be up against it against a powerful Hurricanes team and they lost last time out, blanked 3-0 by the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois admits the team has been frustrated by their recent blip.
He said: “The fun part of hockey is winning games; within the game, the fun part is dominating, playing the full 60 minutes with the other team feeling like they’re trying to catch up to you, to your pace, to your puck movement, to your pressure.
“I think that’s what’s frustrating. There’s some nights where it just feels like we’re playing catch-up, even if we’re close, even if it’s a close game.
“With the talent we have, I think we can do a much better job of forcing teams to play our way, and not us feeling like we’re trying to catch up to their pace, trying to catch up to their puck movement and their breakouts.”
Winnipeg are drinking in the last-chance saloon, so may come out strong and score the first goal of the game at 2.2 in the last of our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
Arizona 3-5 CAROLINA
New York Rangers 3-0 WINNIPEG
Season head-to-head: Winnipeg 2-4 Carolina
