Hurricanes vs. Sharks prediction, odds, pick, how to watch
Who's ready for some more Tuesday night hockey? To conclude the nightcap of action, the Carolina Hurricanes will head out to the west coast to do battle with the San Jose Sharksseries where our Hurricanes-Sharks prediction and pick will be revealed.
With lofty expectations heading into this season, the Carolina Hurricanes have gotten off to a 2-1 start and have already demonstrated their high-scoring ways through three games. So far, Carolina has scored a total of 14 goals and are already proving just how dynamic they can be when the puck is in their possession. Despite losing 6-3 the last time they were out on the ice, the Hurricanes seem to be primed for a successful upcoming regular season.
In the time being, the San Jose Sharks entered the 2023-2024 in clear rebuild mode, and the first two games resulting in a regulation defeat and an overtime loss back up that fact. Still, it appears that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that the Sharks are indeed headed in the right direction. Can the Sharks use their home-ice advantage to the best of their abilities and get their first win of the season with a clutch performance later this evening?
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Hurricanes vs. Sharks Odds
Carolina Hurricanes: -1.5 (-122)
San Jose Sharks: +1.5 (+102)
Over: 6.5 (+104)
Under: 6.5 (-128)
How to Watch Hurricanes vs. Sharks
Time: 10:40 ET/7:40 PT
TV: ESPN+
Why The Hurricanes Will Cover The Spread/Win
On paper, the Hurricanes are arguably the better and more talented squad in comparison to San Jose, but they cannot afford to get lackadaisical, especially in a road environment or they could be in serious danger of losing a second consecutive contest overall and also fail to cover the spread.
In order to avoid this altogether, it will be of utmost importance to find a way to stymie the San Jose offense in an impressive fashion. At first glance, the Sharks appear to be struggling on offense which was also their Achilles heel a year ago en route to averaging only 2.84 goals per contest which ranked near the bottom of the league statistically. Fresh off of a sluggish performance that saw Carolina surrender a whopping six goals on 25 Anaheim Ducks shots on goal in their first defeat of the young season, there is absolutely no excuse for the ‘Canes to come out with their hair on fire en route to stopping the Sharks in their tracks offensively.
Clearly, the strongest suit that this roster possesses is undoubtedly an offense that can put up goals in the blink of an eye. Simply put, expect the Hurricanes to attack the Sharks with their speed and size right from the get-go. Most importantly, if Carolina can put up some early scores in the first frame of this one, then it is likely that the Hurricanes won't spend any more time looking back.
Why The Sharks Will Cover The Spread/Win
While not impossible, the Sharks will be facing an uphill climb even within their home building against a Hurricanes squad with clear championship aspirations. Nevertheless, the Sharks have shown improvement from last season even in the small sample size of two games and even nearly knocked off the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night but ended up losing in a shootout.
Although they lack talent in some areas, a repeated effort between the pipes from goalie MacKenzie Blackwood. Without a doubt, Blackwood came to play against the top offense in Colorado and nearly single-handedly won that game for San Jose as he went on to save 51 of the 52 shots he faced in net and was a force to be reckoned with all night long. With three full days of rest, Blackwood is once again expected to be the starting goalie against Carolina as he seeks to take a huge leap forward this season in becoming one of the more respected goalies in all of the sport.
Not only will Blackwood need to be nearly flawless yet again, but can this offensive attack show at least a slight pulse? So far, the Sharks are only averaging one goal per game and are clearly scuffling. While all it takes is one breakout performance to shake the offseason rust off and start hitting on all cylinders, the offense needs to show out in big way if they are going to take down a colossal titan in the Carolina Hurricanes.
Final Hurricanes-Sharks Prediction & Pick
All in all, anything can happen in the wild and unpredictable sport of hockey, but the Sharks finding a way to cover the spread and ultimately come out victorious against a dominant Hurricanes squad is slim to none. Hammer Carolina to cover and handle their business in a big way on this Tuesday night.
Final Hurricanes-Sharks Prediction & Pick: Hurricanes -1.5 (-122)
