The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes meet Friday in NHL action at the PNC Arena. The Pittsburgh Penguins look to build on their three-game winning streak. The Carolina Hurricanes look for a win after winning five of their last seven games.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are averaging 3.2 goals per game and are scoring on 22 percent of their power play opportunities. Jake Guentzel leads Pittsburgh with 25 goals, Kris Letang has 42 assists and Evan Rodriguez has 166 shots on goal. Defensively, the Pittsburgh Penguins are allowing 2.6 goals per game and are killing 85.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Tristan Jarry has allowed 98 goals on 1,238 shots faced, and Casey DeSmith has allowed 37 goals on 381 shots.

The Carolina Hurricanes are averaging 3.5 goals per game and are scoring on 25.2 percent of their power play opportunities. Sebastian Aho leads Carolina with 24 goals, Tony DeAngelo has 31 assists and Andrei Svechnikov has 172 shots on goal. Defensively, the Carolina Hurricanes are allowing 2.3 goals per game and are killing 90.2 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Frederick Anderson has allowed 76 goals on 1,079 shots faced, and Antti Raanta has allowed 32 goals on 349 goals.

The Penguins are 17-5 in their last 22 road games and 23-9 in their last 32 overall. The Hurricanes are 42-17 in their last 59 home games and 37-16 in their last 53 overall. The under is 4-0 in Penguins last 4 road games. The under is 5-1 in Hurricanes last 6 home games. The Penguins are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Carolina and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.

You can make a case for either of these teams, and it’s hard to pass up the Pittsburgh Penguins in the underdog role. However, the Carolina Hurricanes are due for a bounce back victory, and they’ve been incredibly good at home overall. Both teams on the end of a back to back and the Canes a little more desperate for a win after a cold week, I’ll side with the home team.