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 Colorado Avalanche.
NHL Predictions: Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets vs New York Islanders
Head-to-Head: Blue Jackets 0 – 0 Islanders
The Islanders are coming from a 2-0 loss against the Arizona Coyotes. Columbus won their last game 5-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers – but it cost them Zach Werenski, who will miss the rest of the regular season after having shoulder surgery. So this should be an interesting game. The Isles are doing considerably better than they were last year, starting the year with a 9-6-0. However, they have lost games that they should’ve won and that could be a funky trend to set now. They’ve also managed some huge comebacks in the past five games that gave their fans some hope for the future. Having that in mind, this should be a good game for a bounce-back moment after being shutout by Arizona.
Prediction: Islanders wins, 3-2
New York Rangers vs Nashville Predators
Head-to-Head: Rangers 0 – 0 Predators
To continue our NHL predictions for the day, the Predators are on a two-game losing streak and to say they’ve been in a funk is an understatement. No one expected much from them this year. However, not a lot of people expected them to start the season with a 5-8-1 record. So this has not been a lot of fun for their fans. Now, the Rangers are 7-5-3 and just won 8-2 against Detroit. However, before that, they lost three in a row including an insane 4-3 loss in overtime to the Islanders after blowing a 3-1 lead. That was fun (for Islanders fans, of course). Both teams kinda need a little win to up the morale so this should be a fun game to watch. But the NHL prediction for this one is a win for New York.
Prediction: New York wins, 5-4 (OT)
Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche
Head-to-Head: Hurricanes 0 – 0 Avalanche
To wrap up this set of NHL predictions, this game will be so much fun to watch! A battle between two of the best teams in the league is always fun. Onto what these two teams have been doing, they have very similar records. Carolina is 9-4-1 and Colorado is 7-4-1 to start the season. However, the Avalanche is on a roll after winning both games of the Global Series against Columbus and adding another win against Nashville for a three-game winning streak. So this probably means they’ll be looking to continue that streak going into the game tonight. Carolina is also doing pretty well. But they seem to be relying a ton on their top lines.
Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas lead the team with 17, 17, and 19 points respectively. The next in line for points is defenceman Brent Burns with 10, so this shows how the rest of the team is trying but not succeeding at offence. This could be a problem against a team like Colorado. And the Avalanche are pretty balanced on that end, with the same guys as always leading the team. Nathan MacKinnon has 21 points, Mikko Rantanen has 19 and Cale Makar has 14. However, they’ve also been relying a lot on those guys, especially with Valeri Nichushkin out. But as long as those three guys are okay, the team should be good as well.
Now, looking at their goaltending, this will be a fun matchup. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour is going to play Anti Raanta against the current Stanley Cup champions – considering Frederik Andersen has been placed on injured reserve just yesterday. Raanta is doing really well this year but Andersen was their starter for the season and, even though he wasn’t doing that well, this hurts the team. The Avalanche have Alexandar Georgiev, who’s been playing surprisingly well and currently has a 7-1-0 record and a 2.66 goals-against average. Pretty good.
All things considered, it’s safe to say Colorado will probably take the win today. But it’ll be a really hard-fought game for both sides.
Prediction: Colorado wins, 3-2
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
