Ottawa vs Utah Hockey Club Prediction 26 January 2025

🔊 Will the "Senators" return to the playoff zone? Ottawa, after a series of impressive successes, suffered two setbacks in a row, which caused them to fall out of the playoff eight. However, the club quickly found the strength to cover up the failures with a significant victory over one of the leaders. Utah, on the other hand, despite fairly acceptable results, is increasingly lagging behind the eighth spot in the West. There are big doubts about the team's entry into the Stanley Cup playoffs in its very first year of existence.

📊 Head-to-head

The opponents met almost at the very beginning of the current regular season. In the third decade of October, the "Senators" easily prevailed in Salt Lake City with a score of 4:0. In fact, there was no real contest then. The current home team scored four unanswered pucks in the first period, after which they simply switched to a holding pattern. The biggest contribution to his team's ultimate success was made by Ottawa's defenseman Nick Jensen, who managed to make two assists. However, he is currently injured and will not be able to help his teammates.

🔴 Ottawa

Travis Green's charges are demonstrating their will to succeed. After a series of victories in January, the team slightly stalled and lost "to zero" first to the Rangers (0:5), and then to Boston (0:2). But the "Senators" found the strength to turn things around and dealt with Toronto on their home ice (2:1). The team has clearly started playing much more strictly in defense and does not allow itself to attack without regard for its own goal. This approach sharply contrasts with the expansive attacks at the beginning of the season. The point is that now reaching the playoffs has moved from a dream to reality. The eighth spot in the East is within reach, just a few steps away.

⚪ Utah

The NHL debutant leaves a mixed impression. On one hand, the team sometimes manages excellent games with dominance and good shot activity. On the other hand, periodic failures have become the norm, sometimes the team completely falls out of the game rhythm. These are all growing pains. In the last seven games, the visitors have suffered four defeats and are already six points behind the playoff zone in the West. Overcoming this distance seems highly unlikely. The league newcomer is still not ready for knockout games and is unlikely to withstand this race.

📌 Probable Lineups

Ottawa: Forsberg - Chabot, Jensen - Cizikas, Stützle, Batherson

Utah: Ingram - Marino, Määtä - Schmaltz, Cooley, Keller

🥅 Goalkeepers

Ottawa's goaltender Anton Forsberg has regained his place in the starting lineup and convincingly proves his worth. The Swede maintained a 90% save rate in three out of four games and only faltered under pressure from the Rangers (76.9%). Until Linus Ullmark returns to action, he will be the first choice for the Canadian club.

Utah's goalkeeper Connor Ingram looked quite confident until the game against Winnipeg. The netminder secured two wins and gave almost no chances to the "Bluesmen". However, he cannot count the game against Winnipeg as a success (only 85% saves and as many as five goals conceded). It's time to regain composure, and for his teammates to regain confidence in their last line of defense.

📝 Editorial Prediction

Most of the recent "Senators" matches have become quite low-scoring. The team tries to rely on defensive actions and trusts their goalkeeper. Even playing against Toronto's star-studded offense, the hockey players from Canada's capital openly "dried up" their opponent. This trick could well work again with Utah. Players from Salt Lake City do not impress with offensive efficiency and have already fallen into this trap. Our key bet is total under 5.5 pucks.