Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina Hurricanes NHL Picks & Predictions 12/16/2017

Saturday, December 16, 2017

PNC Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to PNC Arena to play the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, December 16, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at -105 and the Hurricanes at -105.

Columbus has a record of 19-11-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 8-5-1. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 94 goals and given up 84 goals for a point differential of +10. For the season they have an ATS record of 20-12-0 and an over/under record of 15-16-0. Carolina is 12-11-7 including 6-4-3 at home this season. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 83 goals and surrendered 93 for a goal differential of -10. Their record against the spread is 12-18-0 while their over/under record is 14-14-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 20-12-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 15-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 12-18-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 14-14-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/13/17 C Brandon Dubinsky Eye is out indefinitely
12/01/17 D Ryan Murray Upper Body IR (11/27)

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

11/13/17 RW Lee Stempniak Hip IR (10/02)

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has accumulated 26 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 7 goals this year with 86 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 19 assists on the season and averages 20 minutes played per game. Josh Anderson averages 17.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 11 goals on 92 shots. He has 7 assists, giving him a total of 18 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 16 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 745 shots against him and he's given up 55 goals. He's made 690 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Sebastian Aho has scored 21 total points this year for the Hurricanes. He has 7 goals this season with 87 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 14 assists on the season and averages 18.4 minutes played per game. Teuvo Teravainen averages 16.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 8 goals on 65 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 24 points on the season. Scott Darling has 7 wins and 9 losses this year in goal for the Hurricanes. He has 583 shots against him and he's surrendered 59 goals. He's made 524 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 39 total points this season, which ranks them 8th in the NHL. They are 20th in the league in goals scored with 88 while they've given up 80 goals, ranking them 27th overall. They have had 87 power play opportunities and have scored 8 goals on those chances for a percentage of 9%. That is 31st in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have allowed 81 power play opportunities and have given up 13 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, putting them 5th in the league when short-handed. They average 35 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.19% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 7th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes are 22nd in the NHL with a total of 31 points this year. They have 15 power play goals on 98 opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That ranks them 28th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 73 power play opportunities and have given up 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%. That is 28th in the NHL. As a team, the Hurricanes are 24th in the league with 83 goals scored while they've given up 93 goals, which is 14th overall. They average 35 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.86%. As a team they give up 29 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 27th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.1%, as they've attempted 1,860 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,709 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 53.4% as they have 1,441 attempts while they have given up 1,258 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 5th in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 51.9% of the time, which is 12th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.1% for the season. That is 21st overall in the NHL. They have 864 face-off wins compared to 970 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.1%. That ranks them 28th in the league. On defense Columbus has 684 hits and they have blocked 451 shots from the opposition, putting them 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Hurricanes are 1st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 59.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 40.9% for the season, which is 31st in the NHL. They have 939 face-off wins compared to 826 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.2%. That is 1st in the league. On defense Carolina has 549 hits and they have blocked 403 shots from the opposition, which is 27th in the league. Carolina is 1st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 55% as they've attempted 2,006 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,643 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 54.2% ranks 1st as they have 1,465 attempts while they have given up 1,240 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Blue Jackets/Hurricanes NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Carolina -105

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