Posted at 11:30 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle -½ -106 BET365 -½ -105 Sportsinteraction -½ -105 888Sport -½ -105

Carolina -½ -105 over N.Y. Islanders

7:07 PM EST. Regulation only. This is a case of “sticking with it,” as we backed the Hurricanes in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, where Carolina would lose that game 2-1 in the shootout. That contest was about as even up and down the board, as the razor-thin final would suggest. However, tonight, the ‘Canes return home, and they take a big step down in competition right before the Christmas break.

The Islanders inexplicably sit third in the Metropolitan Division, one point up on the Hurricanes, but that is only because they have made a habit of coming out on the right side of one-goal games. Since November 18th, the Isles have won 10 games, and of those, seven were decided in extra time or in regulation by a lone goal, while two others were decided by two goals. Across that 16-game stretch, only once did the Islanders pile on, and that was their 7-3 win over the lowly Blue Jackets back on December 7.

The Islanders have also been one of the weakest puck possession teams not only this season but in recent times as well, as they are 26th in that all-important analytic over the last two weeks. By contrast, the Hurricanes are their usual league-leading puck-possession monsters sitting atop the NHL both on the season and over the last 14 days.

We cannot predict who will or won’t get the bounces in this game, or if the Islanders will continue to play with a horseshoe up their behinds, but we do know that the ‘Canes are very likely to get the bulk of the scoring chances here, and if they bury them, we are going to have a great opportunity to cash this ticket.

Sherwood

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------