NHL Betting Line: Canes vs Caps

December 11, 2009 by admin
Filed under: NHL Hockey Betting 

Carolina Hurricanes @ Washington Capitals

7 pm Friday, December 11th – Verizon Centre, Washington DC

NHL Betting Line: Capitals -240

What The Hurricanes Have To Do To Win:

The Hurricanes will have to do everything right and Washington will have to do everything wrong in order for Carolina to escape with a win in this one. First off, they have to score first. With Semyon Varlamov not expected to start, Jose Theodore will be in net for Washington. A fast start could rattle Theodore’s confidence and make him play sloppy for the entire game. With the Hurricanes getting Cam Ward back from injury, it should make the Canes more comfortable in playing an aggressive game. Washington has the league’s best power play, so Carolina will have to be extra careful not to take any stupid penalties. But even if all that occurs, Carolina is a long shot.

What The Capitals Have To Do To Win:

Just play, baby. The Washington Capitals lead the league in points, they lead the league in goals scored and they have the league’s best power play unit. This is a cohesive unit that knows how to score. They won’t have to do much against a much weaker Hurricanes team. With Theodore most likely in net the Caps may have to do a little extra scoring than previously believed to be needed against a team like Carolina, but that shouldn’t be too hard for Washington. The Capitals lead the league in shared scoring, with six players recording more than 23 points. Their hiccup against Buffalo earlier in the week was just that; a hiccup. This is an elite team that can already start printing out playoff tickets.

Outlook & Pick

This matchup does not favor Carolina: this is the best team in the Eastern conference facing off against the worst. The most offensively gifted team against a net-minder just coming off the injured reserve. The Hurricanes are going to need a lot of luck to pull this one out or get a lot of pucks bouncing their way. If they can somehow keep it close it will go down as a hell of a moral victory. On the flip side, there are some that may say that Carolina may be just enough of an underdog to pull off a major upset. On the reality side, that just doesn’t seem possible.

Pick: Washington Capitals-240

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