Liontips
Carolina vs. Minnesota: NHL Match Prediction
On January 5, Carolina will play its first game in 2025 at its home arena. The Raleigh club opponent will be Minnesota, which was left without Kirill Kaprizov and lost its leadership in the West. The Wild started their road trip with a strong-willed victory in the US capital and have four wins in five games. Last season, the opponents exchanged away victories within regular time. Who will win this time? Read about it in the forecast
Command Analysis
Carolina Hurricanes
USACurrent form
Carolina dropped to fifth place in the conference standings after a lackluster performance in the second half of December. Rod Brin'D'Amour team had lost three of their previous five games and often played terribly on their half of the ice. In the road series, the Canes lost to Washington (1:3), won against the Rangers (3:1), and then suffered crushing defeats against Nashville (2:5) and New Jersey (2:4). In the return game against the Devils, the Hurricanes managed to win (5:2), and then played on the road against Columbus (3:4, B) and Florida (3:1). The Hurricanes stepped up at the end of the game against the Panthers and scored two goals in the final ten minutes of regulation time.
The home team has been less than confident in defense for a long time. Carolina has conceded at least three goals in four of its seven games, while the Canes have been hit 15 times in their previous five games. Petr Kochetkov has given up again after a good stretch. The Russian currently has only a 90.20% save percentage.
Martin Necas remains one of the NHL leading scorers. The Czech forward has 46 points (15+31) and is ahead of Sebastian Aho (12+28), who hasn't scored much yet. The rest of the Hurricanes' players aren't looking as good and can't compete with the club leaders yet.
Disqualifications and injuries
Shane Gostibehere, Tyson Jost, Frederik Andersen, Jack Drury and Jesper Fast will not take part in the upcoming fight 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 19 power moves
Carolina doesn't play hard, so you rarely see a lot of power plays from them.
Minnesota Wild
USACurrent form
Minnesota is in third place in the conference with 52 points after 39 games. John Hynes' men are gradually falling behind Winnipeg, which earned four points more, but also played 40 games. The Wild had a very weak stretch in the second half of December and lost four games in a row, but now the Wild have four wins in five starts. After a defeat to Ottawa in the last meeting of the calendar year (1:3), but started 2025 with a victory over Nashville (5:3). The current away tour began for the club from Minneapolis with a victory in the US capital. Jared Spurgeon team was losing during the third period, but tied the score and took two points from Washington (4:3, B).
Despite Kirill Kaprizov injury, Minnesota has been good on offense and has scored 15 goals in the last five games. Without the Russian, Marco Rossi has become the guests' main reliable player. The Austrian has scored 33 points (15+18) in the goal+pass system and has three scoring actions in the last two games. Matthew Boldy is next with 31 points (13+18).
Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has been a regular, but Filip Gustavsson has been the Wild starting goalie. The Swede has stopped .92350 shots and two shutouts in 26 starts. The Wild have been playing a solid defense all season and are allowing 2.74 goals per contest.
Disqualifications and injuries
Kirill Kaprizov, Jared Spurgeon and Jacob Middleton will not travel to Raleigh. Jakub Lauko is questionable.
Interesting trends for betting
- Minnesota won only 48.3% of its faceoffs.
The Savages perform poorly at the point and often lose the puck to their opponents.
- The Wild have 28 shots on target per game
The visitors don't shoot too much and spend more time in the defensive zone.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
Five of Carolina last seven games have not seen more than one goal scored in the first period.
1.93Bet 3rd period: Carolina will not score
The Canes have failed to score in the third period in two of four games.
2.90Tip and bets
Carolina beat Florida in their last game, but the hosts' form cannot be called optimal. The Hurricanes do not always capitalize on their chances well and often fail in defense at this stage of the season. Minnesota was left without its captain and attack leader, but the visitors have four wins in five games. The Wild are still very good in defense, especially on the road, so they have a good chance of points in Raleigh. We suggest betting on a victory for the visitors with a plus handicap.
Prediction - Minnesota win with Asian handicap (+1) for 1.77
Bet on individual total
Carolina has scored three or more goals in only one of its last 12 games. The Hurricanes shoot from all angles, but that strategy often doesn't bring the home team the results it wants. Minnesota is very solid defensively, especially on the road. Filip Gustavsson remains one of the best goalies in the league and we think he can hold off the Canes' offense.
We bet on Carolina individual total under 3.5 goals with a coefficient of 1.63
Total Bet
Only two of the six games between the teams since 2022 have been productive and have pleased the stands with more than five accurate shots. Minnesota will have to act defensively without its attack leader, and Carolina needs to improve its defense and concede fewer goals. We don’t think the meeting will be on opposite courses. Let’s play a bet on the total under.
We take the total under six goals with a coefficient of 1.67
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