NHL picks: Red Wings vs. Hurricanes, Rangers vs. Devils

An exciting assortment of NHL action awaits fans and bettors this Thursday night.

First, we’ll dive into a matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and the Carolina Hurricanes. Then we'll preview a rivalry game between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils.

Detroit Red Wings (7-15-3) at Carolina Hurricanes (15-6-1), 7:00 p.m. ET

Several trends suggest that an Under is in store as the Red Wings visit the Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Thursday night.

Excluding two consecutive five-goal outbursts at the end of February, Detroit has struggled to score in 2021. Their offense is last in the league in goals per game (2.08), and they’re still dealing with Dylan Larkin’s upper body injury. He’s not expected to return here.

Carolina’s offense ranks toward the top of the NHL (third, 3.45 goals per game), but they haven’t been lighting the league on fire lately. Over their last six games, the Hurricanes have mustered just 2.33 goals per contest. This unit should be fine against a Red Wings defense that’s 28th by goals allowed per game (3.28), but the Canes are not an incredibly appealing bet as huge favorites.

The Under is 4-1 in the Red Wings’ last five games played at the tail-end of a four-games-in-six-nights situation. The Hurricanes’ Over/Under record in their last 24 games in the same situation is 7-16-1.

In Detroit’s last five games following a loss of three or more goals, the Under is a perfect 5-0. The Under is 19-7-2 in Carolina’s last 28 home games following a road trip of seven or more days.

NHL Free Pick: Under 5.5 goals (+105)

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New York Rangers (8-9-3) at New Jersey Devils (7-9-2), 7:00 p.m. ET

Over bettors are 16-5-5 in the last 26 meetings between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, but the Under looks poised to cash on Thursday night.

New York is 24th in scoring (2.65 goals per game) and 28th in power play percentage (14.47%), while New Jersey is 27th in both scoring (2.56 goals per game) and power play percentage (14.81%). Not surprisingly, these teams have tended to produce Unders all season long.

The Rangers have gone below the total in 12 of their last 16 overall, and in eight straight games as road favorites. The Under is also 12-2 in the Blueshirts’ last 14 games played on one day’s rest. Artemi Panarin has been sorely missed since he went on indefinite leave on Feb. 22.

The Devils have gone below the total in five of their last six home games. The Under is 19-7 in New Jersey’s last 26 games played on 1 day’s rest.

NHL Free Pick: Under 5.5 goals (-104)