Carolina Hurricanes vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, 1/1/2022 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Carolina Hurricanes vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Saturday, January 1, 2022

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Hurricanes (-160) Blue Jackets (+132)

The Columbus Blue Jackets (15-13-1) will take on the Carolina Hurricanes (22-7-1) at Nationwide Arena on Saturday. The moneyline on this contest has Carolina at -160 and Columbus is opening at +132. The over/under has been set at 6.

The Carolina Hurricanes went home feeling good about their game by earning a 4-0 victory against the Canadiens in their previous game. Carolina accounted for 10 penalty mins in this matchup. The Hurricanes had a good offensive outing and it showed in this victory. They also had 5 power play attempts and were able to notch 3 goals. In the matchup, they were able to notch a goal on 4 of the 38 shots they put on net.

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When discussing scoring goals, the Carolina Hurricanes have notched 99 goals (10th in hockey) this year and have surrendered 62. For the current campaign, they have tallied 45 points and their points % is .750. Carolina has accumulated 94 power play chances and they have scored 23 goals out of those chances, giving them a percentage of 24.47%. When playing at even strength, the Hurricanes have surrendered 50 goals while notching 76 on offense. Carolina has tried 994 shots and holds a shot percentage of 10.0%. The Hurricanes have had 813 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .924. Carolina Hurricanes opponents have totaled 111 power play tries (1st in the league) and have racked up 12 goals in those attempts.

The man protecting the net in this game is Frederik Andersen. Andersen has participated in 414 games during his hockey career. He has a win-loss record of 242-105-48 and he has gotten the start in 402 games. The opposition has been able to score 1,037 goals against Andersen in his pro hockey career and his goals against rate is 2.61. Andersen has seen 12,343 shots taken against him and he has 11,306 saves. His save percentage currently sits at .916 for his 23,843 mins on the ice. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Andersen has 230 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .572.

In their last contest, Columbus went up against the Predators in a game where the Blue Jackets earned a win by a tally of 4-3. The Blue Jackets scored 4 goals of the 29 shots on goal they tried. They had 3 attempts on the power play in this matchup but weren't able to put one in the back of the net.

Columbus has attempted 865 shots (28th in professional hockey) and has earned a shot percentage of 10.64%, while allowing the other team 1,007 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill percentage of 78.21% on the other teams 78 power play chances, and their save percentage sits at 90.4%. They have a total of 73 power play chances and they have earned a power play percentage of 17.81%. The Blue Jackets have scored 79 goals at even strength and 13 goals (28th in the NHL) while on the power play. They have granted a total of 97 goals to be scored by way of 80 goals at even strength and 17 goals while they were shorthanded. On the year, the Columbus Blue Jackets have earned a total of 92 goals, 31 points, and a points percentage of .534.

For the opposition you are likely to see Elvis Merzlikins in net. He has accrued 2,188 stops out of 2,385 shots attempted, which gives him a rate of .917. Merzlikins has accumulated a lifetime record of 33-28-14 and has participated in 81 contests. He has made the start in 74 games and has played 4,437 minutes. Merzlikins' percentage of quality starts comes in at 55.4% and he has earned 41 quality starting assignments in his hockey career. Teams are averaging 2.66 goals per game and he has surrendered 197 goals overall.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Carolina (-160)

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