{"id":459351,"date":"2024-12-28T08:50:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T13:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=459351"},"modified":"2024-12-27T20:12:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T01:12:48","slug":"nhl-predictions-dec-28-new-jersey-devils-vs-carolina-hurricanes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/28\/nhl-predictions-dec-28-new-jersey-devils-vs-carolina-hurricanes\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec. 28 New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey<\/em> look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the New Jersey Devils taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the second game of a home and home. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n

New Jersey Devils vs Carolina Hurricanes<\/h3>\n

Time: <\/strong>7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> FDSNSO; MSGSN2; ESPN+<\/p>\n

If you have a little feeling of deja vu in this one, don’t worry; the two teams just squared off yesterday in Newark. But now it’s a new day as they face each other in Raleigh, North Carolina for the fourth and final time of the regular season. All games between the two happening before the 2025 year rolled in. Regardless of last game’s outcome<\/a>, this should be another hard fight between two teams battling for the top of the Metropolitan Division.<\/p>\n

The Devils Story<\/h4>\n

The Devils enter this one still riding a wave of confidence and sitting at the top of the Metropolitan Division. Jack Hughes<\/a> and Jesper Bratt<\/a> lead the team in points. Ex-Hurricane Stefan Noesen sits near the top in goals and his net front presence has been a big boost to this Devils team. Under Sheldon Keefe<\/a>, the team has locked it down defensively and boasts one of the best goals-against per-game averages in the league. Of course, helping this has also been the arrivals of defencemen Brenden Dillon<\/a> and Brett Pesce as well as the acquisition of Jacob Markstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n

But the team also has firepower up front with star players like Hughes, Bratt, Timo Meier<\/a> and Nico Hischier. Their power play sits at the top of the league while their goals for per game is top ten. This being the second of a back-to-back, be sure to check the daily lineup for the starting goaltender for fantasy purposes.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes Story<\/h4>\n

The Hurricanes come into this one looking to keep up the good vibes at home. While their away record has been a bit more of a mixed bag for December, at home they have put up a 4-2 record over the month. Martin Ne\u010das<\/a> leads the way in points while Necas and Roslovic sit at the top for goals on the team. Jack Drury<\/a> remains out<\/a> with injury.<\/p>\n

In power play, penalty kill, goals against per game and goals for per game the team ranks in the top ten of the league for the season. Those numbers are likely more inflated due to their hot start with their latest inconsistent play<\/a> mostly hitting lower metrics. But even during their latest slump they have had moments of impressive play and the special teams for the most part has been a bright spot. They will need their stars to step up in this one if they want to get a victory. Again, be sure to check the daily lineup for the starting goaltender.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/h3>\n

Both of these teams bring a lot of skill and strong defensive play. After their active offseason, New Jersey sitting at the top of the Division is not much of a surprise. Carolina sitting in third is maybe slightly a surprise<\/a> given everyone they lost in the offseason. But here we are with one more battle between these two teams. At the moment, New Jersey is really feeling it and Carolina really is not. Every day is a new day and regardless of the previous night’s outcome, New Jersey still carries the more consistent confidence right now.<\/p>\n

Prediction: New Jersey wins 4-1<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets of the Night<\/h3>\n

For prop bets of the night, look at taking New Jersey for the moneyline with +120 odds per Bet365. For any time goal scorers, look at Jesper Bratt for New Jersey. Carolina’s goal-scoring has been more of a mixed bag lately but consider Jack Roslovic here.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the New Jersey Devils […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4428,"featured_media":459353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4524,10,2,4547,13],"tags":[3503,1106,2614,944,3402],"class_list":["post-459351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl-predictions","category-hurricanes","category-featured","category-hockey","category-devils","tag-jack-hughes","tag-jack-roslovic","tag-jesper-bratt","tag-martin-necas","tag-stefan-noesen"],"modified_by":"Tommy Bennett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4428"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459351"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459460,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459351\/revisions\/459460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}