Carolina Hurricanes @ Ottawa Senators - April 17, 2025

Alright, folks! It’s game day, and I can already feel the excitement buzzing in the air like a packed arena on a Saturday night. The Carolina Hurricanes are rolling into Ottawa to take on the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre, and you better believe I’ll be rocking my lucky jersey. This one has all the makings of a classic battle!

Let’s dive right into it! Oddsmakers have opened with Carolina as slight favorites at -135 on the moneyline. However, if you ask me, tonight might just be the Senators’ night to shine! They’ve been hanging tough lately with a record of 44-30-7 and coming off a not-so-great loss against the Blackhawks. But let’s not forget—they’ve won five out of their last seven games and are due for some redemption.

Now looking at their offensive stats, Ottawa’s putting up an average of 2.9 goals per game with about 29 shots taken. Their shooting percentage sits just below 11%, which means they’re finding ways to capitalize when they get those opportunities. Plus, their power play percentage is quite respectable at around 22.8%. They may not have tons of power plays to work with (averaging just over three chances per game), but when they do get them, they know how to make them count.

On the flip side, Carolina boasts a more potent offense averaging around 3.2 goals and generating nearly 32 shots each outing! That said, they’ve had a rough patch lately—1-6 straight up in their last seven games—and struggling defensively too with only an 89% save rate compared to Ottawa’s impressive 90.3%. If you ask me, these statistics indicate that tonight might go in favor of our underdog Senators!

Looking at defense—Ottawa is doing decently well as they’ve maintained an acceptable penalty kill percentage of about 77.8%, while Carolina’s sitting higher but still underwhelming at about 83.9%. Given how critical special teams can be in tight games like these, it could tip things in Ottawa’s favor if they can keep penalties minimal.

With Carolina struggling against strong opponents lately and Ottawa riding high from recent victories (despite some bumps), my prediction leans towards an upset tonight: I think Ottawa will come out on top! And yes—I see Carolina covering that spread despite losing because it’ll likely be close enough that every goal counts.

So here’s how I see it unfolding: Ottawa edges out a victory while both teams score less than six goals total—definitely leaning towards an UNDER finish for this matchup!

Tonight is sure shaping up to be thrilling hockey action; bring your A-game energy because we’re going all-in for our Senators! Let’s go!