Liontips
Washington vs. Carolina: NHL Match Prediction
On December 21, one of the leaders of the East, Washington, will play on its ice with the fifth team of the conference. Carolina is gaining momentum, but the Capitals, on the contrary, have lost two games in a row and looked weak in attack. At the beginning of last month, the teams already met each other and then the Hurricanes celebrated success. Will Spencer Carbery charges be able to take revenge for past grievances? Read our forecast
Command Analysis
Washington Capitals
USACurrent form
Until recently, Washington was the sole leader of the conference, but now the team from the US capital has been moved to second place in the East. Spencer Carbery team showed a strong game for three weeks in a row, but slowed down in the last away series of games. The team of the injured Alexander Ovechkin lost the games in the states of Texas (1:3) and Illinois (2:3), although they were leading in both matches. The Capitals scored two goals in the first period of the meeting with Chicago and maintained this handicap after 40 minutes. In the final period, the "Washingtonians" made several mistakes and conceded three times, letting a sure victory slip from their grasp.
The hosts are still playing without their leader and captain, and now they are again unable to create a large number of chances. In the four previous games, the Caps have made only eight accurate shots, and only once have they scored more than two goals in a match. Dylan Strome remains Washington leader in points. The Canadian has 38 points (11+27) this season.
Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren often let their partners down and have blocked only 90.2% of the shots on goal for the "lice". The goalies take turns on the ice and it is impossible to call one of them the main goalkeeper of the capital club.
Disqualifications and injuries
Alexander Ovechkin, Sonny Milano, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie will not take part in the upcoming match.
Interesting trends for betting
- Washington is averaging just 29 shots per game.
The Capitals don't shoot a lot, but they convert 13.1 percent of their shots.
- The Capitals earn 8.65 minutes of penalty time per match.
The hosts are often sent off, but play well in the minority and cope with many of their opponents' attempts
Carolina Hurricanes
USACurrent form
Carolina is gradually picking up speed after a long slump that lasted almost the entire second half of November. The Hurricanes are in fifth place in the conference, but in terms of lost points, the Hurricanes should be at least in second place in the East. The club from Raleigh earned 41 points in 31 games and played well in the last series of games on the home ice. The team led by Rod Brindamore beat San Jose (3:2), but two days later played poorly against Ottawa (0:3). The Canes drew the right conclusions and easily won against Columbus (4:1) and the Islanders (4:0) before traveling to the US capital. Jordan Staal squad scored two goals in each period of the match against the Isles and calmly held on to the winning result.
In December, the visitors improved their attack and scored at least three goals in five out of six games. The exception was the match against Ottawa, in which Linus Ullmark saved the Canadians. Martin Necas is sixth in the league top scorers list. The Czech forward has scored 44 times (14+30) and is useful in every game.
The goaltending woes have been gradually resolved with the return of Petr Kochetkov from the infirmary. The Russian has stopped only 90.21% of shots this season, but shut out the Islanders in their last game. He could be replaced by Dustin Tokarski, who had a great debut for the Hurricanes and displaced Spencer Martin.
Disqualifications and injuries
Frederik Andersen, Jesper Fast and Jack Drury will not be in the capital this Saturday.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Hurricanes are winning 52.4 percent of their faceoffs.
The visitors are doing well at the point and winning face-offs more often.
- The team receives an average of seven minutes of penalty time.
Rod Brind'Amour men are being sent off three times per match on average.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
In three of Washington five games, the first period was productive.
1.75Bet 2nd period: Carolina will score
Canes score against Washington in second period since 2022
1.42Tip and bets
Washington has played poorly in its last away games, although before that the Capitals had a series of ten away wins. The Capitals looked tough in the previous games and could not please fans with a strong attack. Carolina is gaining momentum and won the previous two matches with a total score of 8:1. Not long ago, the Hurricanes quite easily dealt with Spencer Carbery charges in Raleigh. We think that the visitors will also win in the US capital. We suggest taking the victory of the second, taking into account overtime and shootouts.
Prediction - Carolina wins the match for 1.70
Bet on individual total
Carolina has made good use of its chances in recent games and only failed to score at least three goals twice in December. Washington made a lot of defensive mistakes in games against Chicago and Dallas. The home team goalies rarely play reliably and are unlikely to be able to hold back such Hurricanes. We believe that the Hurricanes will score at least three times.
We bet on Carolina individual total over 2.5 goals with odds of 1.58
Total Bet
In early November, the teams met each other in Raleigh and six goals were scored in the match. Matches between the rivals are often bright and open. The Hurricanes must find the keys to the hosts' gates and force them to attack. We expect hockey on opposite courses and believe in the aerial nature of the confrontation.
We take the total over 5.5 pucks with a coefficient of 1.77
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