NHL betting: Are the Hurricanes a good bet to top the Eastern Conference?
Right when it matters the most, the Carolina Hurricanes are becoming popular at sportsbooks to make a run at the Stanley Cup. So should you consider them when you place your next wager?
Rod Brind'Amour's team is getting hot as the NHL regular season winds down, winning eight of 10 games to close out the month of March. That effort has done wonders for their position with oddsmakers, and DraftKings now lists the Canes as the second favorite to win the Eastern Conference at +330 odds and second favorite at +650 to win the Stanley Cup.
Do the Hurricanes have what it takes to top the East in 2024? Here are some things to consider before placing your bet.
While history doesn't always repeat itself, it still makes sense to take Carolina's recent playoff history into consideration before betting on them to win the East. While the Hurricanes have made the playoffs six straight years including 2024, they haven't made it past the Eastern Conference Final since they won the Stanley Cup back in 2006. Their most recent loss in the last round before the Cup Final was just last year, when the Florida Panthers swept them in a four-game set.
Those same Panthers, by the way, are +330 favorites ahead of the Canes to win the East. However, Florida hasn't been as dominant as Carolina in recent weeks, which makes the Hurricanes a more appealing bet to top the conference.
Of course, the Panthers aren't the only competition down the stretch that the Hurricanes have to worry about, and that is something to keep in mind in the last few weeks of the regular season. Carolina still has two games left this season against the Boston Bruins, who remain dominant in the conference and are listed at +450 at DK to emerge atop the East. The Canes also have their final game of the regular season against the Washington Capitals, who — despite being priced at +7000 to win the East — have already defeated the Hurricanes twice in overtime. When you take these opponents into consideration, betting on Carolina to win the East doesn't seem quite as solid.
Goaltending will also be a big factor for the Hurricanes down the stretch, and is worth keeping an eye on before you place a bet. The Hurricanes got back-to-back shutouts to end March with both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov blanking the opposition. However, Kochetkov hasn't faired well in his few previous postseason appearances and Andersen tends to fizzle the deeper teams get into the playoffs. How each of these netminders fares in the final stretch of the season could be a very good indicator of what they can do in the playoffs.
The Hurricanes could be a good bet to top the Eastern Conference this year, but it's worth it to see how they start off the month of April before placing your bets on them. The competition is fierce and their playoff history shows them coming up short, so give it a couple more games before finalizing your wager. Perhaps, see how they look against the Bruins and the Capitals before taking them at +330 odds to win the East.
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