Carolina Hurricanes vs Pittsburgh Penguins prediction 1-13-24 Picks

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes meet in NHL action from the PNC Arena on Saturday night. Who will come out on top in this Metro division matchup? Let’s find out with our Penguins vs. Hurricanes Prediction.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this one off of a 4-3 OT loss to Vancouver in their last matchup. Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins in scoring with 45 points including 18 goals and a team-high 27 assists while Sidney Crosby has 43 points with a team-high 24 goals. Evgeni Malkin has 35 points with 15 goals and 20 assists while Erik Karlsson’s added 29 points with 22 assists and Kris Letang has 27 points of his own with 24 assists this season. Tristan Jarry has gone 11-12-3 with a 2.56 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Alex Nedeljkovic has an 8-3-2 record with a 2.66 GAA and a .916 save percentage this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts

• The underdogs have won five of the Penguins’ last six games.
• The Penguins have covered the puck line in nine of their last 10 games against the Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
• The road team has won the first period in each of the Penguins’ last five games.
• The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in four of the Penguins’ last five games.

Carolina Hurricanes Team Preview

The Carolina Hurricanes come into this game looking to build on a 6-3 win over Anaheim in their last matchup. Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 47 points including 15 goals and a team-high 32 assists while Seth Jarvis has 31 points split between 15 goals and 16 assists. Andrei Svechnikov and Michael Bunting each have 27 points with Bunting logging 9 goals and 18 assists while Svechnikov has 10 goals and 17 assists. In goal, Frederik Andersen has gone 4-1 with a 2.87 GAA and an .894 save percentage while Antti Raanta is 8-5-2 with a 3.27 GAA and an .862 save percentage and Pyotr Kochetkov is 11-7-3 with a 2.50 GAA and an .903 save percentage.

Carolina Hurricanes Team Facts

• The Hurricanes have lost four of their last five games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four home games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The Hurricanes have won the first period in each of their last four home games following a home win.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in eight of the Hurricanes’ last nine home games.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Carolina Hurricanes rank 2nd in the league in power play percentage this season (28.78%).
• The Carolina Hurricanes rank 8th in the league for goals per game this season (3.46).
• The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 6th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.73).
• The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 26th in the league in power play percentage this season (14.29%).

Penguins vs. Hurricanes Prediction

I’m on the Penguins here. The Hurricanes are playing really well right now, but injuries have the ‘Canes turning to Antti Raanta in goal, and while Raanta is a journeyman, he’s been the worst netminder for Carolina so far this season and it’s hard for me to lay this price with Carolina with him in goal. Pittsburgh’s playing solid hockey themselves and I think they find a way to get it done here. Give me the Penguins and the plus money.