NHL Odds Preview for Tuesday February 8, 2011: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils

Online Sports Betting Overview

Ever since the Super Bowl betting started and Jacques Lemaire took over as New Jersey Devils head coach, the NHL scores have been going the Devils’ way. The pay per head sportsbook experts are not going to give the Devils so much credit as to say they can make the playoffs, but Lemaire may have just bought himself a permanent invitation to be the head coach in New Jersey.

The Carolina Hurricanes have climbed into an eighth place tie with the Atlanta Thrashers in the Eastern Conference standings. It was not too long ago that the Hurricanes looked like they were not going to get the push they needed to make it into the playoffs, but with some great play by goalie Cam Ward and timely goal scoring, the Canes are battling for their playoff lives.

Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have made drastic improvements to their home and road records in the past couple of months. They are now one of the top Eastern Conference home teams with a 14-9-2 home record. On the road, Carolina has raised its record to 12-12-4. The Hurricanes are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games, and they have raised their season goal differential to -5.

Goalie Cam Ward is 3-2 in his last five games, and he has raised his season record to 23-17-5. But the defense in Carolina is weak, and it could be the reason the Hurricanes fall back into the lower regions of the Eastern Conference. Ward has faced the most shots in the NHL so far this season at 1,479. It makes his .920 save percentage that much more amazing, but it also shows a glaring weakness in the Hurricanes’ game.

New Jersey Devils
The Devils are proof that a good coach can make all of the difference in the world to a hockey team. New Jersey is 7-1-2 in its last 10 games. Since Lemaire took over, the Devils have climbed out of the Eastern Conference basement to 13th place. The Devils have been red hot as of late, and while it may be too late to make the playoffs this year, it gives Devils fans hope for their team next season.

Legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur is 4-1 in his last five starts. But the problem for the Devils this season has been goal scoring. The pace has picked up since Lemaire took over, but the Devils are last in the NHL with only 113 goals scored in 53 games. New Jersey’s goal differential is at -41, but it is improving.

The Bottom Line
The Devils are hard to judge lately. This will be a good game for goaltending as Ward and Brodeur are playing very well as of late. Hopefully, the knee injury that Brodeur suffered against the Canadiens will not keep him out of this game. If it does, then this may be a very lopsided affair.

BSN Sports Pick: Carolina Hurricanes