Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Where to watch: Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports South, ESPN+
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hurricanes -150, Blue Jackets +130
BetMGM: Hurricanes -154, Blue Jackets +130
Caesars: Hurricanes -150, Blue Jackets +130
Season record
Hurricanes: 3-0-0, 6 points
Blue Jackets: 3-1-0, 6 points
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Hurricanes - Blue Jackets preview and analysis
Recent form
Hurricanes: won 4-1 at Canadiens on Thursday
Blue Jackets: won 3-2 (OT) vs. Islanders on Thursday
The Bunch of Jerks haven't missed a beat.
The Carolina Hurricanes are off to a 3-0-0 start and look as dangerous as they did last season. Whether or not that turns into actual playoff success, but we've got some time to kill before that's a thing.
But the Hurricanes will carry their undefeated start to Nationwide Arena on Saturday against one of the league's pleasant surprises to begin the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Carolina is coming off a 4-1 victory over the (surprisingly) winless Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. It's not just the fact they won, but Jesperi Kotkaniemi laughed his way to the bank on Thursday with his first goal with the Hurricanes against his former team.
Kotkaniemi signed a one-year offer sheet with Carolina that Montreal refused to match. The No. 3 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft deflected a point shot from Brady Skjei for his first point with Carolina.
"It felt really good," Kotkaniemi said. "It was a big relief after those first two games. But it was a great feeling to get it over here too."
Sebastian Aho had another game that has become the norm with him, scoring twice and racking up an assist to give him five points through three games, and Andrei Svechnikov scored a goal for the third straight game to open up the season.
Offense has never been an issue with the Canes, as they've scored 14 goals through three games. The goaltending, which has always ben a question, hasn't been through three games. Frederik Andersen has been stellar in all three starts, posting a 2.00 GAA and a .938 save percentage.
Carolina's start was expected. The Blue Jackets, winning three of their first four and two of them in overtime, was not.
Columbus won in OT for the second time in three games on Thursday with a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders. And for the second straight win, Patrik Laine scored the winning goal; he scored the winner last Saturday against the Seattle Kraken.
Oliver Bjorkstrand continued his hot start with three assists to give him seven points through four games, and Cole Sillinger became the fourth-youngest player in Blue Jackets history (18 years, 158 days) to score his first NHL goal.
But for CBJ to make any headway this season, it's going to be on the stick of the guy that scored the winner. Laine, the one acquired in the mega deal last season for Pierre-Luc Dubois, has five points through four games.
"I got the puck from (defenseman Zach Werenski)," Laine said. "I was thinking about keeping it and going to the neutral zone, but then I just realized they had a long shift so I might as well try something, and I got past the guy and just tried to shoot it. Our goalie coach (Manny Legace) told me to go low blocker, so that's where I went, and it went in."
Prediction
This is going to be an underrated matchup of goaltenders. Andersen and Elvis Merzlikins (or even Joonas Korpisalo) is going to be really good with how strong of a start the Columbus netminder has had. In the end, I trust Carolina's defense a bit more to play well in front of Andersen. Hurricanes win 3-2
Betting trends
Carolina is 53-39 against division opponents over the past three seasons.
Carolina is 21-14 in the past 35 following a win of three goals or more.
Columbus is 9-25 in Saturday games over the past three seasons.
Columbus is 7-9 following a home win over a division rival.
Projected lines
Hurricanes:
Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Andrei Svechnikov -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Nino Niederreiter -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Derek Stepan -- Steven Lorentz
Jaccob Slavin -- Ethan Bear
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Ian Cole -- Tony DeAngelo
Frederik Andersen
Blue Jackets:
Patrik Laine -- Boone Jenner -- Jakub Voracek
Gustav Nyquist -- Jack Roslovic -- Yegor Chinakhov
Alexandre Texier -- Cole Sillinger -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Eric Robinson -- Sean Kuraly -- Gregory Hofmann
Zach Werenski -- Jake Bean
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Adam Boqvist
Scott Harrington -- Andrew Peeke
Elvis Merzlikins
Statistical leaders
Hurricanes:
Points: Andrei Svechnikov -- 5
Goals: Andrei Svechnikov -- 4
Assists: Teuvo Teravainen -- 3
TOI: Jaccob Slavin -- 23:14
Goalie: Frederik Andersen -- 3-0-0, 2.00 GAA, .938 save percentage
Blue Jackets:
Points: Oliver Bjorkstrand -- 7
Goals: Boone Jenner -- 3
Assists: Oliver Bjorkstrand -- 5
TOI: Zach Werenski -- 25:09
Goalie: Elvis Merzlikins -- 3-0-0, 1.63 GAA, .947 save percentage
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