Carolina Hurricanes vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Odds, Picks and Preview - 10/23/2021

by Chuck Sommers

Friday, Oct 22, 2021
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

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Carolina Hurricanes - Columbus Blue Jackets prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL hockey projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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