Best Bet: Over 95.5 Season Points (-115)
Worst Bet: Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup (+3000)
The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off a trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 2018-19 season as they earned the top wild-card spot after finishing fourth in the Metropolitan Division. That playoff birth didn’t go unemptied as they made a very impressive run to the Eastern Conference Finals knocking out the defending Stanley Cup Champions the Capitals in the first round, before sweeping the Islanders then ultimately falling to the Boston Bruins. Carolina made an impressive run late after collecting 99 points in a 46-29-7 season. Their success was the first for the organization since the 2008-2009 season, as they hadn’t made the playoffs since that season.
Sebastian Aho led the charge in both goals and points last season for the Hurricanes, as he posted 30 goals and 83 points. Teuvo Teravainen topped the assist chart for the team with 55. Petr Mrazek was the best man in the net for Carolina last season as he was able to net 23 wins on the season. Behind Aho the Hurricanes also had three other skaters score over 20 goals last season. Aho along with Jordan Staal, Tervainen and Jaccob Slavin was a key in the strong playoff run for the Hurricanes.
The Boston Bruins proved too much to overcome for the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and if Carolina wants to return to that level, they will have to remain healthy this coming season. Sebastian Aho is still young and is becoming the face of the franchise, for this up and coming group. Ryan Dzingel was a big grab for the Canes in free agency, and Carolina really lucked out by bringing Aho back. Adding Dzingel in the offseason gives the team a strong pair of centers for their front lines. The Hurricanes used their first-round pick on Ryan Suzuki who is a big-time playmaking center much like Aho and Dzingel can be for this team. It will be tough for this team to jump the likes of Pittsburgh and Washington but if they can replicate anything like last season, they will be in a good spot come to the playoffs.
Hurricanes Season Points Total: O/U 95.5 Points
Oddsmakers have the points total for the Hurricanes at 95.5. This seems quite reachable after Carolina was able to reach 99 points in the 2018-19 season in route to not only their first playoff birth in 10 years but also made a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Carolina really made a huge jump from the 2017-18 season to the 2018-19 season as they increased not only their win total but their points total jumping from 83 points in 2017-18 to 99 last season. That was quite an accomplishment for a team that didn’t seem like a contender for much of last season. It was also an increase of 10 wins for the team as well.
Though they may not have shown it in division play with a 13-13-2 record in Metropolitan play last season, the Hurricanes proved effective as they scored 74 of their 245 goals against division foes. After going winless against the Washington Capitals during the regular season, the Hurricanes sure shocked the world when they took out the defending Stanley Cup Champions in a tough seven-game series. After seeing what last season’s team was capable off the Hurricanes finishing with over 99.5 total points is a good play.
Odds to Win the Metropolitan Division: +450
The Washington Capitals are favored to repeat as division champs, and that seems likely as they have won the Metropolitan Division four consecutive seasons. The Hurricanes are tied for the second-best odds of winning the Metropolitan Division and will be looking to dethrone the Capitals, and for good reason, as they made a statement by beating the Capitals in a seven-game series in the first round of the NHL playoffs last season. The other team that may stand in their way is the Pittsburgh Penguins who seem to always have a say in this division.
It was a fourth-place finish last year for Carolina, but the Hurricanes should be right in contention in this division and have a good shot to push both the Capitals and Penguins for that division crown. Unless the Islanders can have a repeat of last season. Don’t sleep on Carolina.
Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1500
The Carolina Hurricanes sure made some noise in last season’s NHL playoffs. Can they make even more noise this season? They very well could as they look to have the pieces set in place. Though it was the first playoff birth for the Hurricanes in many years, they proved they belong as they reached the Conference finals for the third time in their teams’ history. This may be the conference of death as there are some strong teams in both this division but in the conference. The top teams in both conferences failed to reach the conference finals. Carolina made an outstanding run in the 2019 playoffs, from knocking out arguably the best team, not named Tampa Bay to sweeping the red-hot Islanders, before coming up four games short of their third Stanley Cup Final. I like this team to quite possibly reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season, but don’t quite have enough trust in the Hurricanes taking the crown. Take it lightly, but the Hurricanes are a longshot worth watching.
Odds to Win Stanley Cup: +3000
The Canes have made two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in their teams’ history. The first came all the way back in the 2001-02 season and they ended up on the losing side of that series only managing one victory over the champion Detroit Red Wings. However, Carolina delivered a Stanley Cup only four years later as they hoisted the cup in the 2005-06 season. They found themselves just outside the door looking in for another Stanley Cup Final birth, last season and will be hoping to have similar success in 2019-20. It’s a bit of a stretch, but they seem like a team that could get there, but not claims the cup.
