Carolina Hurricanes vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 1/15/2025 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Carolina Hurricanes vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG Network

Odds/Point Spread: Hurricanes (-132) Sabres (+110)

The Carolina Hurricanes (26-15-3) are hitting the road to KeyBank Center on Wednesday where they will try to defeat the Buffalo Sabres (16-22-5). The moneyline on this matchup has Carolina at -132 and Buffalo opens at +110. The total is set at 6.5.

The Carolina Hurricanes will need a bounce back game after taking a 3-2 loss to the Ducks in their previous contest . The Hurricanes had a rough night on the offensive side of the ice in the defeat. For the game, they converted 2 of the 37 shots they attempted. Furthermore, they had 2 power play opportunities and were able to score 1 goal. Carolina earned 4 penalty minutes for this matchup.

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In relation to their goal scoring prowess, the Carolina Hurricanes have notched 147 goals (5th in the league) for the year and have conceded 121. For the season, the have a total of 55 points and their points percentage is .625. Carolina comes into tonight with 136 power play chances and they have scored 31 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 22.79%. At even strength, the Hurricanes have surrendered 101 goals while having 116 of their own. Carolina has attempted 1,398 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.5%. The Hurricanes so far have had 1,102 shots attempted against them and have earned a save percentage of .890. Carolina Hurricanes opponents have tallied 133 power play tries (8th in the league) and have come away with 20 goals in those attempts.

The player between the pipes for this game is Pyotr Kochetkov. For his professional hockey career, Kochetkov has 52 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .559. He has a save percentage of .907 for his 3,993 minutes played. Kochetkov has had 2,423 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 2,198 saves. Opponents have racked up 225 goals against Kochetkov in his pro career and his goals against average per game is 3.38. He has amassed a win-loss record of 54-29-11 and he was named the starter in 93 games. Kochetkov has participated in 97 games during his hockey career.

In their last outing, Buffalo played the Kraken in a matchup where the Sabres went home in defeat by a final of 6-2. The Sabres netted 2 goals of the 35 shots on goal they tried. They had 5 power play chances in this matchup and netted 1 out of those tries.

The Sabres are sitting with 108 goals at even strength and 22 goals (25th in the NHL) while on the power play. Buffalo has attempted 1,162 shots (25th in pro hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 11.19%, while allowing their opponents 1,258 shots. For the year, the Buffalo Sabres have earned a total of 130 goals, 37 points, in addition to a points percentage of .430. They have allowed 145 goals to be scored by of a combination of 116 goals at even strength and 29 goals while they had less men on the ice. They have a tally of 124 chances on the power play and they have earned a power play rate of 17.74%. They have accumulated a penalty kill rate of 78.36% on the other teams 134 tries on the power play, and their save percentage sits at 88.5%.

Across the rink you are expected to see Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen defending the goal. He has gathered 3,442 saves out of the 3,816 shots tried, giving him a rate of .902. Luukkonen has earned a career mark of 60-54-14 and has been in net for 131 games. He has made the start in 127 contests and has accumulated 5,786 mins. Luukkonen's quality start percentage comes out to 54.3% and he has qualified for 69 quality starts in his hockey career. Opponents are averaging 3.88 goals per contest and he has yielded 374 goals altogether.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony's Pick: Take Carolina (-132)

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