Minnesota Wild vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction NHL Picks 1/4/25

In this article, we will formulate a Minnesota Wild vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction for this NHL game on Saturday, January 4th at the PNC Arena. To formulate this prediction, we will look at: 

-The Wild’s recent form and recent player performance 

-The Hurricanes’ recent form and recent player performance

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Minnesota

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Carolina

-Recent betting trends in games played between Minnesota and Carolina

-A summary that ties it all together produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between the Wild and Hurricanes.

The visiting team has won the last two games played between the two teams. 

Wild Coming off Another Win

The Wild have had quite the season, and they are coming off with another big victory. It took a shootout against the Capitals, but the Wild were able to secure the 4-3 victory. It came down to a couple of future Hall of Famers Marc Andre Fleury and Alex Ovechkin, and Fluery made the stop to come away with the points. Ryan Hartman had another game scoring a goal and adding an assist. Fleury saved 28 of the 31 shots that he faced. Two games ago against the Nashville Predators, they were able to secure a 5-3 victory. 

The Wild are averaging 2.95 goals, while their defense is giving up 2.69 goals per game. The offense is ranked 20th in the league while the defense is ranked 6th. They are giving up 29.3 shots per game which is 29th. Fillip Gustavsson is expected to start in goal and he has a 17-6-3 record and a save percentage of 92.4 percent. Kirill Kaprizov is dealing with a lower-body injury and is out. 

Why the Wild Will Beat the Hurricanes 

• The Wild have won six of their last eight games as road underdogs.
• The Hurricanes have lost two of their last three games as home favorites following a road win.
• The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last six games as underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games following a road win.
• The Wild have won the first period in each of their last three games as underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Hurricanes Have Confidence

The Hurricanes have confidence heading into this game and they were able to secure the 3-1 victory against the Florida Panthers. Jaccob Slavin had a strong game scoring one goal and adding one assist. Brent Burns also finished with seven shots on goal and a goal. Pytor Kochetkov saved 25 of the 26 shots that he faced. Two games ago against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it took a shootout, but they ended up 4-3. The Hurricanes are averaging 3.45 goals while their defense is giving up 2.76 goals per game.

The offense is ranked 6th in the league while the defense is ranked 9th. They are averaging 32.2 shots per game which is the most in the NHL. In this game, the Hurricanes need to try and pepper shots on goal. Martin Necas has scored 15 goals and added 21 assists so far this season. Getting the start for the Hurricanes will be Pytor Kochetkov and he sits with a 15-7-1 record and a save percentage of 90.2 percent. 

Total Goal Facts

• Each of the Wild’s last four night games at Lenovo Center following a road win have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Five of the last six games between the Wild and Hurricanes at Lenovo Center have gone OVER the total goals line.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in 17 of the Wild’s last 18 games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in five of the Hurricanes’ last six night games against opponents on a winning streak.

Minnesota Wild vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction

The Wild are going to get the job done here. The Wild’s offense has been elite heading into this game, and they are going to have no issue running up the score here. The Wild have scored at least three goalsi in each of the last two games, and they are going to score at least that here. The Wild will also get good goaltending here, and that will be enough for Minnesota to get the job done. Back the Wild on the money line.