The Carolina Hurricanes will head down to Florida to take on their rivals in the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. These teams are quite familiar with each other since they both sit on/near the top of their respected divisions. So far in the season, these teams have played each other twice and Carolina has walked away with a victory both times. Will the tides finally turn tonight for the Lightning? We'll find out as it’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Hurricanes-Lightning prediction and pick.

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Here are the Hurricanes-Lightning NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Hurricanes-Lightning Odds

Carolina Hurricanes: +1.5 (-210) (+115 ML)

Tampa Bay Lightning: -1.5 (+172) (-138 ML)

Over: 5.5 (-118)

Under: 5.5 (-104)

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Why The Hurricanes Can Cover The Spread/Win

The Carolina Hurricanes are coming into this game on the back end of a back-to-back after defeating the Capitals 6-1 last night. This will be their third game in four days as they're looking for their third straight win tonight to keep the momentum going for the playoffs. The Canes' offense has really been a selling point for their team as they are ranked eighth in goals per game. However, their defense has been even better, ranking first in the league in goals-against per game. Starting goaltender Freddy Andersen got the start last night in Washington, so we can expect to see backup Antti Raanta get the starting nod tonight. Raanta is sporting a .919 save percentage on the season while allowing 2.30 goals against per game. He'll look to shut down the defending Stanley Cup champions tonight.

Why The Lightning Can Cover The Spread/Win

The Tampa Bay Lightning will also be playing their third game in four days, but got a day to rest last night after winning both back-to-back games prior to the day off. That means the Lightning are on a two-game winning streak heading into this matchup. The Bolts are sitting in second place in their division right now, but the Maple Leafs and Bruins (who play each other tonight) are tied as just one point behind them. If the Lighting don't win this game, they'll drop to third place behind the winner of the original six rivalry. Luckily for them, superstar goaltender Andre Vasilevskiy will be getting the starting nod for the Bolts tonight. He's currently sporting a nice .920 save percentage while allowing 2.36 goals against per game. He'll look to keep the Hurricanes in check tonight as the Bolts desperately need the points to stay in second place.

Final Hurricanes-Lightning Prediction & Pick

This is another one of those games that could genuinely go either way. However, I think the Lightning have a slight advantage being at home with a day of rest in between games while the Hurricanes have had no rest. They've struggled on offense lately, scoring three goals or less in eight out of their last 10 games. I expect them to struggle offensively again tonight, especially against one of the best goaltenders in the world.

If you follow my picks, you'd know that I hate to take under total bets. But both of these teams are under .500 on the season when it comes to hitting the over: Carolina is 30-33-3 while Tampa Bay is 31-32-2. My final pick is going to be Tampa on the Moneyline at home tonight, but I'm also going to sprinkle a unit on the under as well, just to see if the trend is correct.

Final Hurricanes-Lightning Prediction and Pick: Lightning ML (-138)