Carolina vs. Ottawa. NHL match prediction and bets

Current form

The Hurricanes are fifth in the East with 37 points after 28 games. The team from Raleigh is slowly falling behind Washington, which is in first place in the conference, but Carolina should rise to at least the second position in the nearest future. Rod Brind’Amour’s men played poorly in November and the current form of the hosts is very questionable. The Hurricanes have lost four of the previous six games, while scoring only four points. After a home victory over Colorado (5:3), Jordan Staal’s team lost to the Islanders in New York (3:4), but then beat San Jose in Raleigh (3:2). The match against the Sharks was not easy. The hosts were losing before the start of the third period, but turned the game in their favor at the end.

Petr Kochetkov has played four games since returning to action. In the last game, he saved more than 84% of the shots on his goal for the first time, but he still doesn’t look too reliable. Carolina can’t seem to get back to its previous results in defense. In the last six games, they have conceded as many as 25 times, and before the meeting with the Sharks, the red light behind the Hurricanes’ goal was lit at least three times in nine games.

Martin Necas has dropped to fifth place in the NHL list of top scorers, although he was in first place not long ago. The Czech forward has scored 43 points (14+29) and is by far the club top scorer.

Disqualifications and injuries

Frederik Andersen, Jack Drury and Jesper Fast will not take part in the upcoming match due to injuries.

Interesting trends for betting

• Carolina averages 32 shots on goal

The Hurricanes play a powerful attack and spend a lot of time in the offensive zone, taking a lot of shots on the opponent goal.

• According to statistics, the "hurricanes" carry out 17 power moves

Carolina doesn't play hard, so you rarely see a lot of power plays from them.

Current form

Ottawa has joined the fight for a place in the playoffs and currently occupies 12th place in the East, but is only four points behind Philadelphia, which is in eighth place, with two games in hand. The Canadians have picked up good momentum and have recently pleased their fans with positive results. Travis Green charges did not play their best in the second half of November, but they played well at the end and, after two away defeats in early December, they played well in the home series. The Sens beat Detroit (2:1), Nashville (3:1), lost to the Islanders (2:4), and in the last match they crushed Anaheim (5:1). The hosts quickly seized the initiative and the lead in the score and did not let the Ducks get close to them.

The Senators have been strong defensively in recent games and have held three of their last five starts to a single goal. Linus Ullmark has been strong in recent games and has been part of three December wins. The Swedish goalie has a .9032 save percentage this season and one shutout in 18 games played.

Drake Batherson has become the new leader of the Ottawa attack. The Canadian scored four points in the game against the Ducks and now has 32 points (12+20). The Canadians' leading scorer Brady Tkachuk (14+17) is one point behind.

Disqualifications and injuries

Artem Zub, Zach Ostapchuk and David Perron will not come to Raleigh.

Interesting trends for betting

• Ottawa won only 52.6% of faceoffs

The Sens are great at the point and often win the puck from their opponents.

• The Legionnaires take 31 shots on target per match

The visitors throw a lot and spend more time in the attack zone.