<p>Join Daily Faceoff’s Andy MacNeil as he handicaps Friday’s matchup between the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vegas-golden-knights/line-combinations">Vegas Golden Knights</a> and <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations">Carolina Hurricanes</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes Odds</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Vegas Golden Knights Moneyline: +135</li>



<li>Carolina Hurricanes Moneyline: -160</li>



<li>Puck Line: Golden Knights +1.5 (-190), Hurricanes -1.5 (+155)</li>



<li>Game Total: 6 (Over +100, Under -120)</li>
</ul>



<p><em>Game odds via Sports Interaction.</em></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Handicapping the Golden Knights (29-15 SU, 27-17 ATS, 21-22-1 O/U)</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vegas-golden-knights/news">Vegas</a> opened its three-game road trip with a 5-3 loss to Nashville. After a two-day break, the Golden Knights aim to bounce back in Carolina. This marks the final meeting of the season, with Carolina winning the first matchup 5-3 on Nov. 11. Vegas is 5-5-3 against the Hurricanes all-time, but just 3-7 straight-up against Carolina in the past 10 meetings.</p>



<p>The road wasn’t kind to the Golden Knights earlier in the season. Vegas started out with five losses in its first six games away from home, but the club has improved a lot over the course of the season. Since Nov. 6, the Golden Knights are 11-3-2 on the road. That said, Vegas has only won three of the seven road games in which it was listed as the underdog.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="154"></div>



<p>However, based on current form, the Golden Knights have looked stronger than Carolina over the past month. Not only does Vegas grade out much better than the Hurricanes offensively, ranking eighth in goals per 60 minutes, but only four teams have allowed fewer goals than the Golden Knights over this stretch. Additionally, the Golden Knights are the only team that has a better shot share than Carolina over the last four weeks and they rank second in expected goals percentage.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/players/news/jack-eichel/2472">Jack Eichel</a> missed one game due to illness, but he played in Nashville and <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/players/news/ivan-barbashev/2737">Ivan Barbashev</a> is also back in the lineup for Vegas after missing almost a month’s worth of action. Barbashev hasn’t scored or registered a point in three games since returning, but he’s scored on 16.4 percent of his shots since joining the Golden Knights in 2022-23.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="140"></div>



<p>Friday’s game marks the first half of a back-to-back for the Golden Knights, but with the lowly Chicago Blackhawks on deck for Saturday, expect Vegas to empty the tank in Carolina on Friday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Handicapping the Hurricanes (26-19 SU, 22-23 ATS, 18-23-4 O/U)</h2>



<p>The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/news">Hurricanes</a>‘ recent results don’t resemble the Stanley Cup contenders they appeared to be earlier this season when they started 16-5-1. Since Nov. 29, they’ve gone 10-11-2 and risk losing three straight games for the second time during this stretch, following defeats to Anaheim and Buffalo.</p>



<p>Scoring has been their biggest issue, compounded by bad puck luck. From the season’s start to Nov. 28, only one team scored more goals per 60 minutes than Carolina. Over the next 23 games, however, the Hurricanes rank 24th in goals per 60. Despite this, they remain fifth in shots and sixth in expected goals, per Evolving Hockey, showing their underlying process is still solid.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="144"></div>



<p>Defensively, Carolina continues to suppress shots better than any other team. However, unlike earlier in the season, the Hurricanes’ goaltending has been average overall. While performance has been in line with expected goals, Pyotr Kochetkov can’t carry the load alone, but luckily, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-activate-frederik-andersen-injured-reserve">Frederik Andersen has been activated from injured reserve</a> following his recovery from knee surgery in November. Kochetkov is still expected to start on Friday, though.</p>



<p>From a betting perspective, Carolina has been a solid home favorite, but the margins are thin because the betting market thinks so highly of the Hurricanes. Despite winning 17 of 23 games as home favorites this season, if a bettor had wagered one unit on the Hurricanes to win all of those games, they’d only be up 2.75 units year-to-date.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Best bet for Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Vegas Golden Knights Moneyline (+135)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>The Knights might not have been an appealing pick earlier when sportsbooks opened with them as +120 underdogs, but the betting market seems overly confident in Carolina today. Alternatively, the early action on the Hurricanes may have been based on the assumption that Andersen would be in net. As a result, the Golden Knights’ odds have shifted to +135, creating a solid opportunity to back them at longer odds. Vegas is 2-1 this season in road games where its moneyline odds are +135 or longer.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="212"></div>



<p><a href="https://app.actionnetwork.com/4zu6/chznhm6b"><em>Follow Andy’s hockey bets on the Action App!</em></a></p>
