The New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes will have a huge battle later tonight against each other. The winner of this matchup will get sole ownership of the top spot in the Eastern Conference Metropolitan division, with both teams coming into the matchup with 44 points apiece. With all that being said, let’s now take a look at our NHL odds series plus our Devils-Hurricanes prediction for this showdown scheduled at 7:00 PM ET.

Here are the Devils-Hurricanes NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Devils-Hurricanes Odds

New JerseyDevils: +1.5 (-245)
Carolina Hurricanes: -1.5 (+194)
Over: 6.0 (+100)
Under: 6.0 (-122)

Why The Devils Could Cover The Spread

Hell has frozen over for the Devils of late. The Devils, who once won 13 games in consecutive fashion this season, are now struggling to even just a victory. After falling prey to the Florida Panthers last Saturday at home, 4-2, the Devils have failed to win for the fifth game in a row. The Devils' offense appears to have dried up, as they have not scored more than two goals in each of their last three games.

All that being said, the Devils have a reason to feel good about their chances of finally ending their slump sooner than later, which could happen as soon as Tuesday night against the Hurricanes. For one, it's almost always a good sign for New Jersey when its upcoming game is in enemy territory. It appears that they play their best hockey when it is on alien ice. The Devils shoot better in away games (11.0 %) than when they're at home (8.9%).

In addition to that, the Devils are also dominating the shot battle on the road (36.38 shots per game) than when they're in New Jersey (34.17 shots per game). And perhaps most important to note is the fact that the Devils are an amazing 11-1-1 in 13 games on the road, so far this season. All that being said, the Devils don't really seem to struggle in terms of possessing the puck regardless of location. In fact, in each of the Devils' last four losses, all of which were at home, they managed to outshoot their opponents every time, posting a Corsi For rate no lower than 53%.

That has been a major reason for the overall success of New Jersey this season. The Devils always find a way to get more shots than their opponents and plenty of them are high-quality attempts. That can be best underscored by their 61.09 percent High Danger Corsi For rate on even-strength situations, which is No. 1 overall in the NHL.

Why The Hurricanes Could Cover The Spread

Unlike the Devils, Carolina is on a groove. The Hurricanes will enter Tuesday night's contest carrying a five-game win streak. The last time they hit the ice, the Canes humbled the Pittsburgh Penguins at home, 3-2. The Hurricanes have played all their last three games at home with the finale of this homestand coming tonight versus the Devils. Not having to travel for this game is an advantage for Carolina, which has won all of its last four games in front of the team's home fans.

During the course of their current undefeated run, the Hurricanes have outscored their opponents, 15-8, while posting an impressive 59.1 CF%. Oftentimes, the Devils will always have a huge advantage over their opponents over season possession numbers. But that will simply not be the case for this matchup. The Hurricanes are one of the few — if not the only one — teams who can say that they're just as better at the very least in terms of possessing the puck as New Jersey. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Hurricanes are No. 1 in the NHL overall with an even-strength 59.98 CF%.

The defensive pairing of Brent Burns and Jacob Slavin has been one of the best in the league today, with the duo posting a 24 Expected Goals For this season — the fourth-best overall among pairings who've played at least 145 minutes on the ice together, per Money Puck. Burns and Slavin can be the disruptive force that will frustrate the Devils when New Jersey is on the attack. The Hurricanes also are right behind New Jersey with a 58.42 even-strength Expected Goals For percentage, which is good for No. 2 overall in the league.

And while the Hurricanes and the Devils are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in 5-on-5 High Danger Scoring Chance percentage, Carolina appears to be better at defending against such shot attempts. Hurricanes opponents have the lowest 5-on-5 high-danger shot attempts to goals conversion rate (5.5). For comparison, the Devils are just 15th in that department with teams finding the back of the net 9.8 percent of the time when taking 5-on-5 high-danger shots.

Final Devils-Hurricanes Prediction & Pick

Considering the forms of both teams,  the Hurricanes are rightfully considered the favorite to win this game. They have the style to keep up with New Jersey. And with the New Jersey's goaltending and overall defense not up to par of late plus the fact that it is playing a road game coming off a loss at home, it's easy to imagine the Devils coming into Tuesday night's meeting with Carolina still not 100%. Taking the Hurricanes here to win and cover.

Final Devils-Hurricanes Prediction & Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (+194)