Join Daily Faceoff’s Nick Martin as he handicaps Wednesday’s NHL matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens.

Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Odds

• Hurricanes Moneyline: -125
• Canadiens Moneyline: +105
• Puck Line: Hurricanes -1.5 (+185), Canadiens +1.5 (-227)
• Game Total: 6 (Over -105, Under -115)

Game odds via Sports Interaction.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes look to be a bona fide Stanley Cup contender once again, though they are in a similar cohort with teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs in that nobody will be too moved by another dominant regular season from head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s side.

Carolina has once again been arguably the league’s most irritating team to play against this season. It continues to pressure the puck as aggressively as any other team in the league, offering a furious forecheck and an offensive core that tracks back as well as anyone in the league.

The Hurricanes rank eighth in goals scored per game this season and eighth in goals against per game. The overall depth of the lineup has once again been a strength, but it is still headlined by three truly elite players in Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis.

Over the last 15 games, the Hurricanes rank third in expected goal share and have been true to form in generating the most shots on goal per 60 in that span.

With four points from their final two games, there is a chance the Hurricanes can finish above the Tampa Bay Lightning and therefore earn home-ice advantage in a realistic Eastern Conference Final. Aside from that, the Hurricanes do not have much incentive to win this matchup, and as a result appear to be preparing to rest several key pieces.

At the time of writing, it is unclear exactly which skaters will be rested in this matchup, but it would be wise to wait and see who it will be prior to betting on Carolina in this game. The price to bet Carolina will likely improve after confirmations towards who is resting, which is something we have seen several times over the last few NHL slates.

Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov rested in Sunday’s matchup versus the Toronto Maple Leafs and is considered probable to start in this game as a result. Kochetkov holds a +7.0 GSAx rating and .898 save percentage in 46 appearances this season.

Montreal Canadiens

After a disappointing shootout loss versus the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, the Canadiens need to earn at least one point from this matchup to clinch the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens have gone on a 14-5-6 tear, which has them well positioned to earn a highly surprising playoff berth. While they have found success when it matters most recently, their overall process has not been quite as convincing, as they have leaned quite heavily on elite goaltending and timely scoring to win games, which may not be overly sustainable.

The Canadiens rank 25th in expected goal share since the break and have allowed 3.46 xGA/60. Head coach Martin St. Louis’ side is still struggling to suppress quality scoring chances, but goaltenders Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes have done a good job of masking their defensive warts.

A lack of offensive depth is also an issue relative to other playoff teams, as they have scored only 2.95 goals per game this season.

However, the Canadiens’ offensive upside could be greatly improved if highly touted prospect Ivan Demidov continues to perform as he did in his electric NHL debut on Monday, as the 2024 fifth overall pick scored two points and created numerous high-quality scoring chances for his linemates.

Montembeault has been confirmed as the starting goaltender in this matchup. He holds a +23.8 GSAx rating and .901 save percentage in 61 games played this season.

Best bet for Hurricanes vs. Canadiens

• Regulation Tie (+310) at Sports Interaction

The Bell Centre is generally considered to provide the NHL’s greatest atmosphere, and the crowd should be electric in this matchup.

While Carolina will be without some key pieces, it features strong depth, which could help counteract that concern, and will surely be well motivated to play the role of spoiler in front of the home crowd in a perfect tune-up for the postseason.

It seems unlikely that the Canadiens will ever run away with this game given the Hurricanes’ tremendous defensive upside, but they should be able to keep the game close as they attempt to earn the final playoff spot.

Both of the last two Canadiens games have required overtime, and this game will likely feature a script that keeps the possibility of overtime very much in play once again. Montreal only needs one point to earn a playoff spot, and it wouldn’t be surprising to me if it does earn it simply by getting this game to overtime.

At a long number of +310, there looks to be value backing this exciting matchup to head past regulation.