NHL Wednesday best bets: Road warriors

We have a quiet four-game slate on the docket for Wednesday night. Luckily, there are a couple of games that really stand out from the rest.

Let's dive into a pair of best bets for the headliners.

The Penguins have dropped seven consecutive games. While they don't look the part of a contending team - and probably aren't after a poor offseason - they are better than the recent results suggest.

Despite winning just two of the last 10 games, the Penguins have controlled nearly 52% of the expected goal share at five-on-five. That slots them 13th, just ahead of teams like the Maple Leafs and Lightning.

Considering Jake Guentzel - the team's best winger - missed six games over the last 10, those numbers are pretty good.

But five-on-five play isn't really the issue. What has gotten the Penguins into a lot of trouble is special teams play.

The power play has struggled to create chances and put the puck in the net, which isn't all that surprising given Guentzel's absence. Even if there are fundamental problems, they should score at a higher clip moving forward with the talent on hand.

Wednesday night offers a nice matchup to do just that. The bruised and battered Capitals have given up a lot on the penalty kill of late, slotting bottom-10 in expected goals allowed per 60.

Washington's power play has performed pretty well, but with T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, and, perhaps, John Carlson out of the lineup, the Penguins' struggling penalty kill stands a much better chance of keeping it off the board.

What I think could help in this situation is all the time off the Penguins have had. Pittsburgh's played only one game since last Wednesday night. It's had a lot of time to refresh, focus on what to fix, and come up with solutions.

This is a well-coached, veteran-heavy team, and I expect the Pens to respond after chewing on these losses for such a long period of time.

Bet: Penguins (-135)

The Hurricanes are off to an impressive start to the season. Despite all the offseason changes - and injuries to Max Pacioretty and Ondrej Kase - they have hit the ground running, piling up wins while posting remarkably strong underlying numbers.

Carolina has won eight times through 12 games, sits fourth in the league in points percentage, and has absolutely steamrolled teams at five-on-five.

Only the Devils have controlled a larger share of the expected goals, while just the Golden Knights and Devils sit ahead of the Hurricanes in high-danger chances.

Admittedly, the Panthers are lurking in the top 10 of each category, but they are missing some extremely important pieces.

Aaron Ekblad's return will come sooner rather than later, but he's expected to be out again in this one. Matthew Tkachuk will also miss this affair due to suspension. Tkachuk has 17 points through 12 games and a very good two-way profile, so that's a loss that will sting mightily at both ends of the ice.

While the Panthers have posted strong underlying metrics, the reality is they have won one more game than they've lost. The process is great, but you still need the talent available to help translate it into results.

Without Ekblad and Tkachuk - two of the team's three best players - I think they're going to be in tough against one of the league's best teams.

Look for the Hurricanes, who are 5-1-1 on the road, to continue their success away from home.

Bet: Hurricanes (-115)

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

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