Ottawa Senators @ Carolina Hurricanes - December 13, 2024

As we gear up for the clash between the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center, there are plenty of intriguing trends to dissect. The Hurricanes enter this matchup as -175 favorites, while the total is set at 6 goals.

Let’s start with the offensive stats. The Hurricanes have been a force to reckon with, averaging an impressive 3.7 goals per game on 32.3 shots, which translates to a shooting percentage of 11.8%. Their offensive zone presence is noteworthy too, boasting a 57.5% zone time that indicates they spend more time in favorable scoring positions than their opponents.

In contrast, the Senators have also shown some offensive prowess this season with an average of 3.0 goals per game and a slightly lower shooting percentage of 10.5%. They take around 30.9 shots per game and maintain a decent offensive zone percentage of about 52.7%. While both teams can score, it’s clear that Carolina has the edge in terms of overall offensive efficiency.

When we look at special teams, both squads have respectable power play percentages—Carolina sits at 28.3%, while Ottawa follows closely behind at 27.6%. However, Carolina’s power play generates nearly one goal per game from just over three chances (0.93), whereas Ottawa averages about 0.89 goals from their opportunities.

Defensively, Carolina has demonstrated solid performance metrics as well; they save approximately 88.4% of shots faced and boast an impressive penalty kill rate of 84%. On the other hand, Ottawa’s defensive numbers tell a different story—they achieve an even higher save percentage (88.8%) but struggle significantly on penalties with only a 75% kill rate.

Now let’s talk about recent form: Carolina comes off a narrow victory against San Jose where they won by just one goal (3-2). This win was crucial for bettors who took them on the moneyline but did not cover any spread due to the close scoreline falling under expectations for OVER bettors since only five total goals were scored.

Ottawa is riding high after dominating Anaheim with a convincing scoreline of 5-1 in their last outing—a result that rewarded those who backed them heavily on the moneyline despite pushing on total points due to six being exactly matched.

However, here lies my prediction: I foresee Carolina winning this contest based on their superior overall record (18-9-1) compared to Ottawa’s (13-13-2). Yet given Ottawa’s tendency to keep games close despite poor ATS performances lately (just two covers out of their last thirteen), I believe they will manage to cover the spread tonight.

On totals? Given both teams’ recent trends and defensive capabilities—especially Ottawa’s struggles against potent offenses like Carolina—I expect this match will end up UNDER six goals once again.

So fans should prepare for an exciting evening filled with data-driven insights as these two teams face off!