The Vancouver Canucks will look to snap a three-game losing streak Friday as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes. With a record of just 6-5-7 since December 1st, the Canucks hold only a one-point advantage over the Calgary Flames for the final Wildcard spot. After a scorching hot start to the season on the road, they are just 1-2-4 in their last seven road games.

The Hurricanes moved to a 16-5-0 on home ice with their 6-3 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. As Pyotr Kochetkov started last night and Frederik Andersen is still sidelined due to injury, Dustin Tokarski will likely make his fifth start of the season in this matchup.

I’ll detail the relevant game notes, as well as outline my favourite betting angle below.

While moral victories might not mean much for a Canucks side that is desperately in need of points right now, they did play well in Wednesday’s loss versus the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals. The Canucks held a 19-17 edge in high-danger chances, outshot the Capitals 31-18, and generated 4.70 expected goals.

Over the last 10 games, the Canucks have averaged just 2.40 goals for per game and generated only 2.85 xGF/60. While they have struggled to generate quality chances, they do not project to be a team which finishes at a below-average rate, and if they can create looks at the rate they did in Washington, it should mean far better offensive results moving forward.

After being labelled a game-time decision versus the Capitals, Elias Pettersson ultimately did not play. His status for this matchup is unclear, but he certainly sounds very close to drawing back into the lineup.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki has looked dangerous playing alongside Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller over the last two matchups, and whether or not Pettersson does return, it seems likely that head coach Rick Tocchet will keep that trio intact. They have generated 4.81 xGF/60 in 20 minutes together and hold a goal differential of plus-2.

Thatcher Demko was fit enough to serve as the backup goaltender Wednesday in Washington and could potentially return in this matchup. He holds a .881% save percentage and 3.34 GAA in seven games played this season.

While the Hurricanes have been dominant on home ice once again this season, the Canucks are playing their lone matchup in Carolina of the season at a good time. The Hurricanes will be playing their third game in four nights in this matchup and sixth game in eight days.

In four starts this season, Tokarski holds a -2.5 GSAx rating and a .894% save percentage. He holds a career 3.12 GAA in 84 appearances in the NHL and holds a .894% save percentage over the last two seasons in the AHL.

Over the last 11 games, the Hurricanes are only NHL .500 at 5-5-1, and have allowed 2.91 goals against per game. They have allowed 3.02 xGA/60 in that span, which is the 15th-best mark in the NHL.

While the Hurricanes have not been bad defensively this season, they have been far less dominant in suppressing opponents’ quality chances than we have seen throughout the rest of head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s tenure. They have allowed 2.81 goals against per game this season, which ranks 11th in the NHL.

The Hurricanes have taken steps forward offensively this season and have continued to generate a lot of chances of late despite some more modest offensive outputs. They have scored 3.40 goals for per game and rank second in expected goals for per game.

Brind’Amour currently has his top three offensive units quite balanced, as the team’s three top point producers in terms of per-game average are on separate lines.

The Hurricanes power play has also been effective once again, succeeding on 22.9% of attempts this season. However, it has been far less effective in the time that top-unit quarterback Shayne Gostisbehere has been sidelined, with a success rate of just 8.3% in eight games since his injury.

The Hurricanes look to be a better offensive side than their recent goal totals suggest, which was a point I outlined yesterday prior to their matchup with the Leafs. They should be able to force the Canucks’ suspect defensive core to make some mistakes in this matchup and generate a reasonable offensive output.

Carolina has also been far less dominant defensively than we have seen throughout the rest of Brind’Amours tenure as head coach thus far this season. While its goaltending hasn’t been great, lesser defensive play has also helped cause their higher goals against average to rise.

The Canucks are catching Carolina in a good spot here, as they are playing night two of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights. They will also likely start Tokarski, who figures to post below-average results this season. It’s scary to count on the Canucks’ generating offence right now, but with Tokarski in goal, their chances of doing so seem to be underrated.

At +290, I see value in backing a long-shot parlay of the Canucks winning and the game going over 5.5 goals.