Columbus Blue Jackets vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, 3/20/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Carolina Hurricanes

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: Fox Sports Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+170) Hurricanes (-189)

PNC Arena is the site where James Reimer and the Carolina Hurricanes (20-7-2) will play the Columbus Blue Jackets (12-12-7) on Saturday. The Hurricanes open this game at -189 while the Blue Jackets are coming in at +170. The O/U is set at 5.5.

The Blue Jackets were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes in their last contest. Their offensive zone starts were rated at 42.9% and their PDO rating was 108.3 in this one. They had a tally of 25 face-off wins when at even strength and were beaten on 31 opportunities to take control of the puck. Their Fenwick was 32 and the Fenwick Against sat at 38, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 45.7%. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets came in at 45 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 53 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 45.9%. Columbus accounted for 2 penalty minutes in this contest. Furthermore, they had 1 power play opportunity but weren't able to notch a goal. The Blue Jackets were neither impressive or disappointing offensively in this victory. For the game, they scored on 3 out of the 28 shots they put on goal.

Columbus Blue Jackets opponents have 73 power play opportunities (28th in pro hockey) and have come away with 20 goals in those chances. The Blue Jackets have had 964 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .898. Columbus has attempted 897 shots and has a shooting percentage of 9.1%. While at even strength, the Blue Jackets have conceded 78 goals while notching 70 as an offensive unit. Columbus comes into the game with 76 power play opportunities and they have tallied 12 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 15.79%. For the season, they have recorded 31 points and their points percentage sits at .500. In the matter of scoring goals, the Columbus Blue Jackets have notched 82 goals (21st in the National Hockey League) for the season and have given up 98.

Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Joonas Korpisalo. The opposition has been able to score 397 goals versus Korpisalo in his career and his goals against average per game is 2.83. Korpisalo has been involved in 150 matchups during his hockey career. His save percentage sits at .907 in his 8,421 mins in the crease. He has an overall mark of 68-52-19 and he has gotten the start in 138 games. Over the course of his time in hockey, Korpisalo has 70 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .507. Korpisalo has seen 4,257 shots against him and has recorded 3,860 total saves.

In their loss to Columbus, Carolina wrapped up this game with a 54.1% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Carolina played and you can safely assume that they'll look to improve in their next outing. They had a Fenwick percentage of 54.3% by amassing a Fenwick of 38 and the Blue Jackets finishing with a 32 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO was 92 and their percentage of oZS was 57.1%. The Hurricanes earned 2 goals out of the 27 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play chances in this game and scored 1 out of those chances.

Carolina has attempted 912 shots (11th in professional hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 10.42%, while allowing the opposition 841 shots. They have earned a penalty kill percentage of 82.00% on their opponents 100 power play tries, and their save percentage sits at 91.1%. They have a tally of 94 chances on the power play and they have a power play percentage of 31.91%. The Hurricanes have racked up 65 goals at even strength and 30 goals (1st in professional hockey) while on the power play. They have allowed 75 goals to be scored by way of 57 goals at even strength and 18 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the season, the Carolina Hurricanes have 95 goals, 42 points, as well as a points percentage of .724.

Across the rink you are going to see James Reimer defending the goal. Reimer has a career record of 170-130-41 and has participated in 379 contests. Reimer's quality start rate is 50.7% and he has 175 quality starting assignments in his professional career. He is sitting with 10,077 saves out of 11,034 shots attempted against him, which gives him a save % of .913. Teams are averaging 2.80 goals per game and he has surrendered 957 goals altogether. He has been a starter 345 games and has been on the ice for 20,541 minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Carolina (-189)

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