Columbus Blue Jackets vs Colorado Avalanche Prediction, 11/3/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Colorado Avalanche

Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude Sports

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+195) Avalanche (-245)

Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets go to Ball Arena on Wednesday where they'll take on the Colorado Avalanche. The Blue Jackets open this contest at +195 while the Avalanche are coming in at -245. The total has been set at 5.5.

The Blue Jackets came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 4-3 win over the Devils in their last game. The Blue Jackets had a solid offensive output and it showed in the victory. In the outing, they scored on 4 out of the 26 shots they tried. In addition, they had 2 power play opportunities and notched 1 goal. Columbus recorded 4 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets was 52 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 60 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 46.4%. Their Fenwick came in at 33 and the Fenwick Against sat at 43, giving them a Fenwick rate of 43.4%. They totaled 33 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 21 opportunities to gain puck control. Their starts in the offensive zone were at 51.4% and their PDO was 100.1 for this matchup.

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In the matter of their goal scoring prowess, the Columbus Blue Jackets have accumulated 22 goals (20th in the league) on the campaign and have given up 22. For the season, they have racked up 10 points and their points % is .625. Columbus has accumulated 24 power play chances and they have notched 6 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 25.00%. When at even strength, the Blue Jackets let the opposition score 16 goals while getting 16 on the offensive side of the ice. Columbus has taken 217 shots and holds a shot percentage of 10.1%. The Blue Jackets have had 280 shots attempted against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .921. Columbus Blue Jackets opponents have 27 power play opportunities (13th in pro hockey) and have earned 6 goals in those attempts.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Elvis Merzlikins. Over the course of his career, Merzlikins has earned 35 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .593. He has a save percentage of .921 during his 3,616 minutes in the crease. Merzlikins has seen 1,907 shot attempts taken against him and he has 1,757 total saves. Opponents have notched 150 goals versus Merzlikins in his NHL career and his average for goals against per game is 2.49. He has earned an overall record of 25-22-13 and was named the starter in 59 games. Merzlikins has participated in 66 contests over the course of his professional hockey career.

In their last game, Colorado faced off against the Wild in a game where the Avalanche ended up with the win by a score of 4-1. Their PDO at even strength was 112 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 52.8%. They had 4 power play opportunities in this game and scored 1 goal out of those chances. Their Fenwick rate was 47.8% by amassing a Fenwick of 32 and the Wild having accrued a 35 Fenwick. The Avalanche scored 4 goals out of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. Colorado earned a 47.0% Corsi rating. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Colorado had and we'd say they played well overall.

Colorado has put up 253 shots (16th in the league) and has a shot percentage of 9.09%, while allowing their opponents 249 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 81.82% on their opponents 22 tries on the power play, and their save percentage currently comes in at 89.2%. They have a tally of 31 chances on the power play and they have a power play percentage of 12.90%. The Avalanche are sitting with 19 goals at even strength and 4 goals (24th in pro hockey) while having a power play advantage. They have allowed 27 goals to be scored by of a combination of 23 goals at even strength and 4 goals while they were shorthanded. This season, the Colorado Avalanche have earned 23 goals, 8 points, in addition to a points percentage of .500.

On the other side of the ice you will find Darcy Kuemper in net. He has tallied 6,358 stops out of the 6,938 shots taken against him, giving him a save % of .916. Kuemper has accumulated a lifetime mark of 110-86-32 and has played in 249 games. He has been a starter 232 contests and has been on the ice for 14,018 mins. Kuemper's quality start percentage comes out to 56.0% and he has made 130 quality starts in his pro career. His opposition is averaging 2.48 goals per game and he has surrendered 580 goals altogether.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Columbus (+195)

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