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

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Florida Panthers

Date: Sunday, April 4, 2021

Location: BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+125) Panthers (-167)

Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-16-8) head to BB&T Center on Sunday where they'll take on the Florida Panthers (24-9-4). The Panthers open this game at -167 while the Blue Jackets are priced at +125. The over/under opens at 5.5.

The Blue Jackets will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3-2 defeat against the Lightning in their last outing. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets came in at 53 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 45 which had their Corsi percentage coming in at 54.1%. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 51.6% and they had a PDO at even strength of 99.4 for this matchup. Columbus garnered 4 mins in the box in this matchup. The Blue Jackets didn't have their best offensive outing in the defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 42 and the Fenwick against finished at 35, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 54.5%. They had 20 face-off victories when at even strength and lost on 17 attempts to gain puck control. Additionally, they had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to convert it into a goal. For the game, they were able to notch a goal on 2 out of the 38 shots they put on goal.

Pertaining to scoring goals, the Columbus Blue Jackets have notched 94 goals (23rd in the league) for the year and have conceded 118. For the current campaign, they have scored 36 points and their points percentage is .474. Columbus has compiled 88 power play chances and they have scored 13 goals out of those chances, giving them a rate of 14.77%. While playing at even strength, the Blue Jackets have conceded 97 goals while notching 81 on offense. Columbus has taken 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 recorded 87 power play tries (31st in professional hockey) and have earned 21 goals in those chances.

The player in the crease for this game is Elvis Merzlikins. Merzlikins has been in goal for 49 contests throughout his hockey career. He has earned a mark of 19-15-10 and he has gotten the start in 45 games. Opponents have racked up 111 goals versus Merzlikins in his career and his goals against average is 2.48. Merzlikins has seen 1,403 shot attempts taken against him and has gathered 1,292 saves. His save percentage currently is at .921 for his 2,688 mins in the crease. Over the course of his career, Merzlikins has compiled 26 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .578.

In their last contest, Florida played the Red Wings in a game where the Panthers earned a win by a score of 3-2. Florida had a 48.3% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Florida had and you can say they had a mediocre outing. They had a Fenwick percentage of 53.0% by amassing a Fenwick of 35 and the Red Wings finishing with a 31 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO was 100 and their percentage of oZS was 42.6%. The Panthers notched 3 goals of the 36 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 4 power play chances in this one and recorded 1 out of those chances.

The Panthers have scored 92 goals at even strength and 29 goals (6th in pro hockey) while on the power play. Florida has attempted 1,272 shots (2nd in hockey) and has earned a shot percentage of 9.51%, while allowing the opposition 1,125 shots. During this campaign, the Florida Panthers have earned a total of 121 goals, 52 points, and a points percentage of .703. They have earned 121 chances on the power play and they have a power play percentage of 23.97%. They have earned a penalty kill percentage of 80.53% on the other teams 113 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage currently sits at 91.2%. They have allowed 99 goals to be scored by of a combination of 77 goals at even strength and 22 goals while they had less men on the ice.

For the opposition you will find Chris Driedger protecting the goal. His opponents are averaging 2.15 goals per game and he has surrendered 61 goals overall. Driedger's quality start rate is 74.1% and he has accumulated 20 quality starting assignments in his professional career. He has started in 27 games and has racked up 1,702 mins. Driedger has accrued a lifetime record of 17-7-3 and has been in net for 31 contests. He has recorded 806 stops out of the 867 shots taken, giving him a rate of .930.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus (+125)

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