Columbus Blue Jackets vs Florida Panthers Prediction, 4/3/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Florida Panthers

Date: Saturday, April 3, 2021

Location: BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL

TV: Bally Sports Florida

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+125) Panthers (-150)

BB&T Center is the site where Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers (24-9-4) will play the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-16-8) on Saturday. The Panthers open this game at -150 while the Blue Jackets are priced at +125. The total has been set at 6.5.

The Blue Jackets had a rough game after their 3-2 loss to the Lightning in their last game. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets sat at 53 and the Corsi against at the end of this game was 45 which means they had a Corsi rate of 54.1%. Their offensive zone starts sat at 51.6% and they had a PDO at even strength of 99.4 for this one. Columbus recorded 4 penalty minutes in this game. The Blue Jackets didn't have their best offensive outing in this defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 42 and the Fenwick Against sat at 35, meaning they had a Fenwick rate of 54.5%. They compiled 20 face-off victories when at even strength and lost on 17 attempts to gain puck control. In addition, they had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to net one. For the game, they tallied a score on 2 of the 38 shots they put on goal.

When talking about scoring goals, the Columbus Blue Jackets have accumulated 94 goals (21st in the National Hockey League) on the year and have given up 118. For the year, they have recorded 36 points and their points percentage sits at .474. Columbus has 88 power play opportunities and they have tallied 13 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 14.77%. While at even strength, the Blue Jackets have allowed the opponent to score 97 goals while getting 81 of their own. Columbus has tried 1,081 shots and has a shooting percentage of 8.7%. The Blue Jackets have had 1,197 shots taken against them and hold a save percentage of .901. Columbus Blue Jackets opponents have tallied 87 power play tries (31st in hockey) and have a total of 21 goals in those chances.

Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo has been in net for 152 games during his pro hockey career. He has compiled a mark of 68-53-20 and he has gotten the start in 140 games. Opponents have been able to score 404 goals versus Korpisalo in his pro hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.84. Korpisalo has had 4,318 shots taken against him and has recorded 3,914 total saves. His save percentage currently sits at .906 for his 8,540 minutes between the pipes. Throughout his time in hockey, Korpisalo has accumulated 69 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .493.

In their last game, Florida faced the Red Wings in a game where the Panthers earned a win by a tally of 3-2. Florida wrapped up this game with a 48.3% Corsi rate. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Florida played and it shows us they played like an average team. They had a Fenwick percentage of 53.0% by way of having a Fenwick of 35 and the Red Wings finishing with a 31 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO was 100 and they earned an oZS percentage of 42.6%. The Panthers notched 3 goals out of the 36 shots on goal they took. They had 4 power play attempts in this game and tallied 1 out of those attempts.

Florida has taken 1,272 shots (1st in professional hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 9.51%, while allowing their opponents 1,125 shots. They have earned a penalty kill rate of 80.53% on their opponents 113 power play opportunities, and their save percentage comes in at 91.2%. They have a tally of 121 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play rate of 23.97%. The Panthers are sitting with 92 goals at even strength and 29 goals (6th in the league) while having more men on the ice. They have granted a total of 99 goals to be scored by of a combination of 77 goals at even strength and 22 goals while they were shorthanded. So far this year, the Florida Panthers have earned a total of 121 goals, 52 points, in addition to a points percentage of .703.

Across the rink you will find Sergei Bobrovsky protecting the goal. Bobrovsky is sitting with a lifetime mark of 292-177-45 and has participated in 528 games. Bobrovsky's rate of quality starts comes out to 56.7% and he has qualified for 292 quality starting assignments in his professional career. He has recorded 14,219 saves out of the 15,512 shots attempted, giving him a save percentage of .917. The opposition is averaging 2.55 goals/game and he has surrendered 1,293 goals in total. He got the starting nod in 515 games and his ice time sits at 30,452 minutes.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Columbus (+125)

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