Welcome back to another day of NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today’s featured game is the Carolina Hurricanes vs Toronto Maple Leafs.
NHL Predictions: February 7th Including Carolina Hurricanes vs Toronto Maple Leafs
New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators
Head-to-Head: Devils 0-1 Senators
In the first matchup of the day, two teams well out of the playoff race go head-t0-head. While both teams are having tough seasons, they are in very different situations respectively.
For the Senators, they started off the year about as poorly as you could, going 10-18-2 in their first 30 games. They struggled in virtually every way, but their goaltending was particularly poor. Since then, they have started to look like a much-improved team, going 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. While that isn’t necessarily anything to write home about, it is a step in the right direction for an organization that has a lot of young talent. Look for Brady Tkachuk (12-18-30) and Tim Stutzle (8-13-21) to have an impact on this game.
As for the Devils, this is undoubtedly a season to forget. They started the season off without top goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, and they now find themselves without him yet again. That means that the starting goalie will likely be Jon Gillies, who only has one win in seven starts this season. Pair that with a team who has gone 1-9-0 in their last 10 games, lost six in a row, allowing more than 3.5 goals per game and you have a recipe for disaster.
Prediction: Senators win 4-2
Carolina Hurricanes vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Head-to-Head: Hurricanes 1-0 Leafs
For the featured game of the day, we have the Carolina Hurricanes vs Toronto Maple Leafs. This is, unsurprisingly, the vastly more exciting game of the day. Carolina comes into the game riding a four-game win streak and Toronto has a five-game win streak of their own, with both teams going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games respectively.
For Toronto, it would be easy to say who the impact players are going to be in this one. Mitch Marner has been on fire as of late with 12 points in the last five games, putting him at 37 points in 33 games this season. The main thing to keep an eye on is whether or not goaltender Jack Campbell will be able to stop the red-hot Hurricanes offence from scoring.
For the Hurricanes, look for Andrei Svechnikov (16-22-38, 39 games) to continue his fantastic season, and don’t be surprised if Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen pop up on the score sheet more than once respectively.
This matchup is going to be an extremely exciting one to watch, and the difference-maker will likely come down to whether or not Toronto’s top power play can break down the top penalty kill in the league in the Hurricanes.
Prediction: Hurricanes win 5-3
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