by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Feb 24, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
Where to watch: BSSO, TSN5, RDS2
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hurricanes -250, Senators +210
FanDuel: Hurricanes -240, Senators +195
BetMGM: Hurricanes -250, Senators +200
Caesars: Hurricanes -263, Senators +210
Season record
Senators: 27-25-4
Hurricanes: 38-10-8
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Senators - Hurricanes preview, prediction and analysis
The Ottawa Senators will be playing the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, February 24 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Ottawa Senators lost against the Boston Bruins last Monday, February 20 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 3-1. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division.
Claude Giroux scored, and Kevin Mandolese made 29 saves in his second NHL start for Ottawa (27-25-4), which lost for the third time in 10 games (7-2-1).
The Senators won their previous two games against the Bruins this season (7-5 on Oct. 18; 3-2 in a shootout on Dec. 27).
"You're never going to be satisfied, obviously, with a loss," Ottawa defenseman Travis Hamonic said. "A tough back-to-back (after a 7-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday), really difficult building to come into historically no matter where that team is in the standings. They're the No. 1 team in the League, so we feel like we played them really strong, obviously, all season, and it was a good game for us this afternoon, and just a couple chances end up going [in] the back of our net."
Jake DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 15:09 of the first period. Giroux tied it 1-1 at 19:30 of the first. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk's pass attempt hit the skate of Senators forward Dylan Gambrell, who corralled the puck in the corner and centered it to Giroux in the slot.
"Just trying to work to get that puck back," Gambrell said. "A couple of guys changing, and staying out there [for] the extra second just to keep them in their zone, but you know, it was a great finish."
David Pastrnak put Boston in front 2-1 at 17:06 of the second period, scoring glove side from the bottom of the left circle off a pass from McAvoy. Pastrnak pushed it to 3-1 at 12:10 of the third period, shooting five-hole on a breakaway after receiving a stretch pass off the boards from McAvoy.
The Senators were unable to score on a 5-on-3 power play for 1:49 after Bruins forward Craig Smith received a tripping penalty at 9:16 of the first period and Patrice Bergeron got called for hooking 11 seconds later.
"We would love to have that back in a tight game like this," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "But you can't let it affect the rest of the game, which I didn't think it did. I thought we played hard. That's a really good team. We had our chances, I thought we checked really hard. [Mandolese] was really good. It's just at the end of the day, a couple mistakes we made, you know, ended up in our net."
The Ottawa Senators have won seven of their last 10 games.
The Carolina Hurricanes won against the St. Louis Blues last Tuesday, February 21 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina with a score of 4-1. The Carolina Hurricanes currently rank 1st in the Metropolitan Division.
Andrei Svechnikov had two goals and an assist, and Seth Jarvis had one goal and two assists for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, Brent Burns had two assists and Frederik Andersen made 35 saves for the Hurricanes (38-10-8), who have won four in a row and are 13-1-1 in their past 15 games.
"'Svech' got us going. He was dynamic pretty much the whole game," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "And then 'Freddie' was great. He kept us in the game. Overall, I'm [really] happy with it."
Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 1:26 of the first period with his 20th goal of the season. He skated from the defensive zone before scoring from the right face-off circle on a wrist shot over Binnington's blocker, ending a 19-game drought.
"It's been a while for me," Svechnikov said. "Whenever you score, it gives you a little bit of confidence, and you just try to create even more chances. I wasn't worried, actually. I know what kind of player I am; it just didn't come for me."
His second goal made it 2-0 at 7:57 when Binnington stopped a net-front tip by Jarvis and the rebound came to Svechnikov, who scored into an open net on the backhand.
Justin Faulk cut it to 2-1 at 3:59 of the second period, one-timing a short pass from Josh Leivo from the left circle.
Aho made it 3-1 at 16:36 after Svechnikov's centering pass went off the right post before Aho jammed it in the net.
The Blues tested Andersen on the power play early in the third period, but the Carolina goalie made saves against Brayden Schenn, Nikita Alexandrov and Ivan Barbashev.
"I try not to get ahead of myself and really just focus on each situation," Andersen said. "We've been playing really well too, so obviously that helps."
Jarvis scored at 2:25 of the third period for the 4-1 final when Aho forced a turnover against Colton Parayko in front the net and fed Jarvis, who drew Binnington out of position and tucked the puck inside the left post.
"That kind of came out of nowhere," Jarvis said. "Usually, I would just get that and shoot it. I thought, maybe I'll hold onto it. I tried it, and luckily it worked out."
The Carolina Hurricanes have won nine of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Really interested in how Ottawa answers the challenge while trying to possibly buy at the deadline. But the Canes are just too good. Hurricanes 5, Senators 3
The Ottawa Senators lost against the Boston Bruins last Monday, February 20 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 3-1. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division.
Claude Giroux scored, and Kevin Mandolese made 29 saves in his second NHL start for Ottawa (27-25-4), which lost for the third time in 10 games (7-2-1).
The Senators won their previous two games against the Bruins this season (7-5 on Oct. 18; 3-2 in a shootout on Dec. 27).
"You're never going to be satisfied, obviously, with a loss," Ottawa defenseman Travis Hamonic said. "A tough back-to-back (after a 7-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday), really difficult building to come into historically no matter where that team is in the standings. They're the No. 1 team in the League, so we feel like we played them really strong, obviously, all season, and it was a good game for us this afternoon, and just a couple chances end up going [in] the back of our net."
Jake DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 15:09 of the first period. Giroux tied it 1-1 at 19:30 of the first. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk's pass attempt hit the skate of Senators forward Dylan Gambrell, who corralled the puck in the corner and centered it to Giroux in the slot.
"Just trying to work to get that puck back," Gambrell said. "A couple of guys changing, and staying out there [for] the extra second just to keep them in their zone, but you know, it was a great finish."
David Pastrnak put Boston in front 2-1 at 17:06 of the second period, scoring glove side from the bottom of the left circle off a pass from McAvoy. Pastrnak pushed it to 3-1 at 12:10 of the third period, shooting five-hole on a breakaway after receiving a stretch pass off the boards from McAvoy.
The Senators were unable to score on a 5-on-3 power play for 1:49 after Bruins forward Craig Smith received a tripping penalty at 9:16 of the first period and Patrice Bergeron got called for hooking 11 seconds later.
"We would love to have that back in a tight game like this," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "But you can't let it affect the rest of the game, which I didn't think it did. I thought we played hard. That's a really good team. We had our chances, I thought we checked really hard. [Mandolese] was really good. It's just at the end of the day, a couple mistakes we made, you know, ended up in our net."
The Ottawa Senators have won seven of their last 10 games.
The Carolina Hurricanes won against the St. Louis Blues last Tuesday, February 21 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina with a score of 4-1. The Carolina Hurricanes currently rank 1st in the Metropolitan Division.
Andrei Svechnikov had two goals and an assist, and Seth Jarvis had one goal and two assists for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, Brent Burns had two assists and Frederik Andersen made 35 saves for the Hurricanes (38-10-8), who have won four in a row and are 13-1-1 in their past 15 games.
"'Svech' got us going. He was dynamic pretty much the whole game," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "And then 'Freddie' was great. He kept us in the game. Overall, I'm [really] happy with it."
Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 1:26 of the first period with his 20th goal of the season. He skated from the defensive zone before scoring from the right face-off circle on a wrist shot over Binnington's blocker, ending a 19-game drought.
"It's been a while for me," Svechnikov said. "Whenever you score, it gives you a little bit of confidence, and you just try to create even more chances. I wasn't worried, actually. I know what kind of player I am; it just didn't come for me."
His second goal made it 2-0 at 7:57 when Binnington stopped a net-front tip by Jarvis and the rebound came to Svechnikov, who scored into an open net on the backhand.
Justin Faulk cut it to 2-1 at 3:59 of the second period, one-timing a short pass from Josh Leivo from the left circle.
Aho made it 3-1 at 16:36 after Svechnikov's centering pass went off the right post before Aho jammed it in the net.
The Blues tested Andersen on the power play early in the third period, but the Carolina goalie made saves against Brayden Schenn, Nikita Alexandrov and Ivan Barbashev.
"I try not to get ahead of myself and really just focus on each situation," Andersen said. "We've been playing really well too, so obviously that helps."
Jarvis scored at 2:25 of the third period for the 4-1 final when Aho forced a turnover against Colton Parayko in front the net and fed Jarvis, who drew Binnington out of position and tucked the puck inside the left post.
"That kind of came out of nowhere," Jarvis said. "Usually, I would just get that and shoot it. I thought, maybe I'll hold onto it. I tried it, and luckily it worked out."
The Carolina Hurricanes have won nine of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Really interested in how Ottawa answers the challenge while trying to possibly buy at the deadline. But the Canes are just too good. Hurricanes 5, Senators 3
Betting trends
Senators are 6-8 off a road loss this season.
Senators are 10-15 after a road game this season.
Hurricanes are 20-9 off an under this season.
Projected lines
Senators:
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stützle -- Claude Giroux
Alex DeBrincat -- Ridly Greig -- Drake Batherson
Derick Brassard -- Shane Pinto -- Mathieu Joseph
Parker Kelly -- Dylan Gambrell -- Julien Gauthier
Thomas Chabot -- Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom -- Artem Zub
Jacob Larsson -- Travis Hamonic
Cam Talbot
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stützle -- Claude Giroux
Alex DeBrincat -- Ridly Greig -- Drake Batherson
Derick Brassard -- Shane Pinto -- Mathieu Joseph
Parker Kelly -- Dylan Gambrell -- Julien Gauthier
Thomas Chabot -- Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom -- Artem Zub
Jacob Larsson -- Travis Hamonic
Cam Talbot
Hurricanes:
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Teuvo Teravainen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Derek Stepan -- Paul Stastny -- Stefan Noesen
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan -- Jalen Chatfield
Frederik Andersen
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Teuvo Teravainen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Derek Stepan -- Paul Stastny -- Stefan Noesen
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan -- Jalen Chatfield
Frederik Andersen
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
