NHL Betting Guide for January 8: Weather Patterns with the Leafs and Hurricanes

There are 11 NHL games on the slate for Hockey Night. We’ll focus on the Leafs vs. Avalanche and the Panthers vs. Hurricanes, both games taking place at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Of course, we’ll be using FanDuel Sportsbook to give you all the latest odds for tonight’s games.

The Panthers are the second-best offense in the league this season, scoring 3.88 goals per game, but the Hurricanes are the best defense, only allowing 2.16 goals a game. However, Carolina’s offense is no slouch, ranking fifth with 3.5 goals per game, while Florida’s defense is average.

Frederik Andersen has been holding it down in the Canes net. His .929 SV% is fifth overall, and his 1.97 GAA is third. Sergei Bobrovsky’s numbers are not as impressive as Andersen’s but are a considerable improvement over his past few seasons. In 2020-21, Bobrovsky had a .906 SV% and a 2.91 GAA, which was still better than his .900 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 2019-20. This season, he’s sporting a .918 SV% and a 2.56 GAA. Listen, we’re not saying Bobrovsky is back to his Vezina level form, but it’s great for Florida to have a reinvigorated Bobrovsky in the net.

Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes in scoring. He’s put up 15 goals and 20 assists in 29 games. Aleksander Barkov has missed quite a bit of time this season, but Jonathan Huberdeau has been holding down the fort. Huberdeau has 12 goals and 32 assists through 34 games. Both Barkov and Huberdeau are averaging over a point a game.

We think the under is a pretty solid bet in this game. Both teams can put the puck in the net, but 6.5 is on the high side. The Hurricanes are the more complete team, so we think it’s safe to bank on them winning outright.

The Picks: Hurricanes Moneyline (-104), Under 6.5 (-114), Aleksander Barkov – Points: Over 0.5 (-188)

All NHL predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid

Odds courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook. Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk-free for up to $1,000.