Metropolitan Division NHL odds: Hurricanes can win division by beating Panthers, Devils can steal Metro if Carolina loses

Every team in the NHL plays Thursday night, the last full slate of the regular season (there are two more games Friday and then it's over), and you can still wager at DraftKings on which club captures the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Carolina Hurricanes will be Metro champs if they win at Florida, but New Jersey would steal the title if it wins at Washington and Carolina loses. The Hurricanes are -200 and the Devils +160 on the division odds.

Carolina is at a disadvantage tonight because Florida still has some motivation -- if the Panthers win, they jump back into the East's top wild card spot and would avoid the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round. The 2023 Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins are the only team to have clinched their division thus far.

A win in any fashion gives the Hurricanes the division title. They also can earn it they get the game to overtime (thus earning at least one point) and lose and the Devils lose to the Capitals in any fashion, or if the Devils lose in regulation. Under the NHL's tiebreaker format, if the Hurricanes and Devils have the same amount of points, the Devils would break the tie with more regulation wins, 39 to 38.

The Metro champion would play either Florida or the second wild card team, the New York Islanders, in Round One. The second-place team would be stuck facing the excellent New York Rangers. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Monday.

A victory would give Carolina its 52nd of the season, tying for the second-most in franchise history. The team is 45-5-5 when scoring three goals or more this season. The Hurricanes have yet to announce their starting goaltender for Thursday, but it likely will be Frederik Andersen. The 33-year-old Andersen is 20-11-1 this year with a 2.43 GAA and .904 save percentage. While he hasn't faced Florida this season, he is 10-4-3 in 19 career appearances against them.

Florida will start former Hurricane Alex Lyon, a journeyman who suddenly has been spectacular and appears to have taken the No. 1 job from Sergei Bobrovsky. Lyon this month is 4-0-0 with a 1.38  GAA and .958. He hasn't faced Carolina this year and played two games for the Canes last season.

New Jersey is a heavy favorite at Washington because the Capitals are eliminated from playoff contention and have been resting players of late. Alex Ovechkin, for example, is a game-time call.

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