The Carolina Hurricanes (25-9-7) will be looking to halt their losing streak when they travel to face the Columbus Blue Jackets (12-26-2) at Nationwide Arena on Thursday. Carolina is coming off a high-scoring 5-3 loss against the Devils on Tuesday, their fourth defeat in a row. The Hurricanes committed four penalties in the game, though they held New Jersey without a power play goal.
Sebastian Aho, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Max Pacioretty scored one apiece for the Hurricanes. Aho added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Pyotr Kochetkov saved only 18 of 22 shots against (.818%) in the loss.Columbus fell 6-3 to the Lightning on Tuesday.
Kirill Marchenko, Gavin Bayreuther, and Tim Berni scored one apiece for the Blue Jackets. Patrik Laine had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Elvis Merzlikins only had 40 saves on 46 shots against (.869%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have split their two meetings this season, the most recent of which was a 4-3 (SO) victory for the Blue Jackets on January 7. Marchenko led Columbus with three goals. Pacioretty (2G 0A) and Brady Skjei (1G 1A) each had two points to lead Carolina. Joonas Korpisalo got the win, saving 39 of 42 shots (.928%).
FACING OFF
Carolina is averaging 3.10 goals per game for the season, 19th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Blue Jackets team that is allowing 3.92 goals a game (30th). Meanwhile, Columbus has found the net 2.55 times a game on average, 30th in the league, and the Hurricanes are allowing opponents to score 2.73 goals per game (9th).
Carolina averages more shots per game (35.7) than any other team in the league, though the team’s 8.9% shooting percentage ranks 28th. Columbus has proven to be one of the league’s least successful shot-stopping teams, ranking No. 28 with a team save percentage of .894%.
The Blue Jackets’ 16.19% power play percentage is the fourth-worst in the league, while the Hurricanes rank 25th with a conversion rate of 19.31%. When it comes to penalty killing, Carolina has the league’s 14th-ranked PK% at 80.00%, while Columbus is 20th at 75.00%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 39 points this season, Martin Necas is the top skater for the Hurricanes. He has 17 goals and 22 assists in 41 games. In the net, Kochetkov (10-3-4) is Carolina’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.20 GAA, second-best in the league, and a .919% save percentage.
Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 38 points. He has 11 goals and 27 assists. Korpisalo (6-7-1) has the best goals against average for Columbus at 3.10. He has a save percentage of .913%.
HOME AND AWAY
Carolina is 13-4-6 away from home this season. Columbus is 10-12-1 at Nationwide Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 (-125)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
