Carolina vs St. Louis: The Hurricanes are too exhausted to beat the Blues

Carolina has a difficult back-to-back at home. Rod Brind'Amour's team lost their first game to Philadelphia 1-2. Now the Hurricanes will host St. Louis. Will the Hurricanes fail in the second game too? Let’s pick a few options to bet on. 

This is what usually happens: a team makes the playoffs and falls to a tough opponent there. Often such series end in a win-to-nil for those who don't play themselves and don't let others. By beating Carolina, Philadelphia proved this tendency. The Flyers destroyed and were patient, conceded only once in 2 periods, and then just finished off an opponent demoralized by their own offensive impotence. 1-2, as the Hurricanes lost to another strong opponent. Before that, Rod Brind'Amour's team was destroyed on the road by Florida 2-5, conceding 4 unanswered goals in a period. After that, they only managed to beat a damp Tampa Bay in overtime at their Amalie Arena. Maybe it's still too early to write the Hurricanes into the favorites of the season.  

Like Carolina, the Blues have been sagging in terms of results of late. They've lost 4 of their previous 8 games, 2 of them in regulation time, and they've only won 2 times within 60 minutes. But first of all, Craig Berube's team has won the Stanley Cup recently. And second, last season, even though they were eventually eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, they honed their new offensive style. The Blue now have far more options for adjusting to specific opponents, a key element for effectiveness in the postseason. And it seems like this team should not be discounted in any way. At least in the West, it's still hard to find a team that's guaranteed to beat the Blues in a four-game winning streak.

• Carolina: Nino Niederreiter – not playing. Brett Pesce, Antti Raanta – questionable;
• St. Louis: Torey Krug, Niko Mikkola, Oskar Sundqvist, Ville Husso, Brayden Schenn – not playing.

St. Louis beat Carolina in 5 of the last 6 matches.

The match against Philadelphia must have exhausted Carolina, and it also did not bring any result that could have made up for the physical cost. In the meeting with St. Louis, the fatigue of the Hurricanes will definitely have an impact. The Blues are famous for their ability to play their best in any situation. Take, for example, the recent road game with Los Angeles, where Craig Berube's team bounced back with about 10 seconds left before the final siren with the only chance they had. In the game against Carolina, the Blues are likely to earn points as well.

Prediction: St. Louis will be closer to victory.

• Asian Handicap St. Louis (+0.25) for 1.99;
• St. Louis To Win In Regulation Time for 2.75;
• Correct score 2-3 for 25.37.