NHL Thursday best bets: Expect a tight game in Carolina

A very busy week of NHL action continues as we get set for a juicy 13-game slate.

Let's dive into a couple of my favorite plays on the board.

Wild (+140) @ Hurricanes (-165)

Although there are plenty of high-end forwards set to take the ice in this game, the defenses stand out the most.

The Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes are two of the very best defensive teams in the league, as has been the case for several years.

We'll start with the road side. Minnesota is the only team conceding fewer than 10 high-danger opportunities per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. They also grade out very well in terms of expected goals, allowing an average of 2.34 per 60 minutes. That's the third-best total in the league.

It just so happens the Wild are taking on one of the two teams ahead of them. The Hurricanes have given up 2.10 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, establishing a fairly healthy gap between them and the Boston Bruins (2.30) and Minnesota (2.34).

Both the Wild and Hurricanes are capable of suffocating opponents in any third. They can forecheck, cause turnovers high up the ice, and sustain shift after shift working down low in the offensive zone. They also have the ability to handle their assignments and prevent glaring breakdowns in the defensive zone.

Given those characteristics, it's hardly surprising the Wild and Hurricanes are quite adept at killing penalties. They rank inside the top seven of limiting expected goals in undermanned situations.

The Wild and Hurricanes combined to score only 12 goals in their three meetings during the 2022 calendar year, going under the number each time out.

I expect similar Thursday night.

Bet: Under 6 (-125)

Capitals (-190) @ Coyotes (+160)

The Arizona Coyotes have hit a new level of bad. They won just one of the last 10 games, needing overtime to grind out the lone victory against a mediocre Detroit Red Wings team - in the latter half of a back-to-back.

Hockey is a very luck-driven sport - sometimes you play well and don't get the bounces, making you look worse than you are. This isn't one of those times.

Over the last 10 games, the Coyotes rank 31st in expected goal generation and in the bottom five in expected goal suppression. They're having a miserable time at both ends of the ice.

Earlier in the year, Karel Vejmelka was able to mask some of those problems and help the Coyotes steal a few wins. Whether he was playing over his head or whether the workload has simply caught up with him, Vejmelka has really slowed of late.

Of 38 netminders to log at least 400 minutes over the past month, Vejmelka ranks 34th with a putrid .884 save percentage. No matter the circumstances, that's never going to be good enough.

The Washington Capitals may have tailed off a little bit of late, but there isn't any real cause for concern. I think they've simply been going through an adjustment period while working a few key players back into the lineup.

Considering how poorly the Coyotes are playing at both ends of the ice and the level of goaltending they're getting from Vejmelka right now, this is a perfect spot for the Capitals to get the ship moving in the right direction.

Look for Washington to take care of business inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Capitals in regulation (-120)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.