The New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes meet in an opening night matchup Thursday. Puck drop from Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+ / hulu). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Devils vs. Hurricanes odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
2024-25 regular-season series: Tied 2-2; Hurricanes won 4-1 in playoff series
The Devils hit the road trying to change the recent trends in this series. New Jersey lost 3 games in the playoffs in Raleigh, and 6 in a row across the past 2 postseasons. Carolina has won 10 in a row at home against New Jersey since a 5-3 victory by the Devils at Lenovo Center on Jan. 10, 2023.
New Jersey has veteran-laden group of forwards, and a formidable top scoring line with LW Jesper Bratt, RW Evgenii Dadonov and C Jack Hughes. The biggest question for the Devils is on defense, and in the crease. D Brett Pesce missed time in the preseason due to an undisclosed injury, but he is expected to be ready for face his former team.
Carolina made one of the biggest splashes in the free agency market, bringing in LW Nikolaj Ehlers, formerly of the Winnipeg Jets. The Hurricanes are hoping Ehlers will be another piece for a deep run in the Eastern Conference playoffs, trying to close the gap between Carolina and the 2-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
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Devils at Hurricanes odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:12 a.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML): Devils +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Hurricanes -160 (bet $160 to win $100)Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Devils +1.5 (-185) | Hurricanes -1.5 (+150)Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -118 | U: -102)Devils at Hurricanes projected goalies
Jacob Markstrom (26-16-6, 2.50 GAA, .900 SV%, 4 SO in 2024-25) vs. Frederik Andersen (13-8-1, 2.50 GAA, .899 SV%, 1 SO in 2024-25 regular season)
The 35-year-old Markstrom posted 26 wins last season, but he was a rather marginal 12-9-2 with a 2.58 GAA and .906 SV% with a shutout in 23 roads starts in the regular season. He went 2-1-0 with a 2.35 GAA and .916 SV% in 3 starts against the Canes.
Andersen limped to a 5-4-0 record, 2.48 GAA and .892 SV% mark in nine starts at home. He didn’t face the Devils in the regular season, but he went 3-1-0 with a 1.58 GAA and .936 SV% in 4 starts against New Jersey in the first-round playoff series, but he was injured in Game 4. That’s his career in a nutshell, as he is impressive when he is healthy, but his propensity for injury is always a problem.
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Devils at Hurricanes picks and predictionsPrediction
Hurricanes 3, Devils 2
The HURRICANES (-160) are a solid play as moderate favorites, mainly because Carolina has won 10 straight meetings at home against New Jersey. Until the Devils prove they can win on the road against their Metropolitan Division rivals, keep backing the home side.
The Devils +1.5 (-185) are a little on the expensive side, costing you nearly 2 times your potential return if you need some insurance. That’s just too much risk for not enough reward. If you were to toss New Jersey into a multi-leg parlay, it would be OK to play the visitors catching the goal and a half. But, don’t get too carried away.
PASS on the Devils as a singular bet.
UNDER 5.5 (-102) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at most.
The Under cashed in 3 of the 5 playoff games, but the Over went 2-0-2 in the 4 regular-season meetings. Carolina’s offense should get a nice bump with Ehlers, but Markstrom and Andersen should keep scores down in this defensive battle.
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