At the end of last week the Carolina Hurricanes treated their opponents very harshly. Can the Buffalo Sabres, who are in even better form, slow them down?
Carolina Hurricanes
Despite a not particularly outstanding run of 6-3-1, the Carolina Hurricanes have scored 13 goals in their last two back-to-back games. First they crushed the Florida Panthers on home ice, scoring nine times against Sergei Bobrovsky, and the very next day in Newark they broke down the New Jersey Devils’ defence with a quick double midway through the second period (4:1).
Nikolaj Ehlers was the key player in the home game (3+1), and on the road it was Andrei Svechnikov (hat-trick). Sebastian Aho also deserves mention: he assisted Svechnikov on all three goals and provided two assists against the Florida Panthers as well. Their confident lead in the Metropolitan Division is fully deserved.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres currently occupy the final play-off spot thanks to a 7-2-1 run. For a team that was bottom of the Eastern Conference after the first two months of the regular season, things started to go right from 9 December. Since then they have won 15 games, lost once after regulation and suffered only two regulation defeats. This means the team are now one of the most dangerous opponents in the league. They rely heavily on an excellent penalty kill (83.1%), which is better than the Carolina Hurricanes’ 79.4%. Interestingly, the top three scorers on each team have combined for the same number of points overall — 124.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction
After such dominant performances by the Carolina Hurricanes, it seems logical to back them, but the Buffalo Sabres’ surge makes us hesitate. The teams have already met twice this season, and on both occasions only the home side won: 6:3 in Raleigh and 4:1 in Buffalo. The visitors also score freely: over the last month four or five goals have become normal for them. Instead of trying to pick a winner, we will back the total over.
