When the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Carolina Hurricanes, chalk will be burnt. That’s right. The lottery-destined Blue Jackets may just make Hurricanes backers sweat. Going by the latest news, stats, and injury reports, host Carolina is rightfully favored by over 2-1 on the NHL odds. But Columbus has given these Stanley Cup contenders hell before.
Will Blue Jackets Trip Up Hurricanes?
Carolina Perfection
In the NHL, parity is (usually) king. Favorites go down quite so often. But the Carolina Hurricanes are one of the safest chalk bet online. Carolina has won 20 of its 26 games as a favorite and is over seven units profitable.
Notably, the Hurricanes are 5-1 when they are over a 2-1 favorite. This is the best team in the NHL right now and is above average in almost every major category, from a top-10 offense to the league’s second-best penalty kill.
Most wins ✅
Best points % ✅
Best goal differential ✅
Best coach ✅https://t.co/MXxBD1So2J— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 11, 2022
Carolina has no superstar in the mold of Connor McDavid, but it is the most prolific team across several lines with at least four players on pace to score over 30 goals and five more who could hit 20. And we haven’t talked about the hot goaltending yet.
Columbus has Done it Before
If any division rival can throw some rocks into Carolina’s well-oiled gears, it’s Columbus. The Blue Jackets may only be 3-5-2 against Carolina in their last 10 games, but two of these wins came in their last three visits to Raleigh.
The Blue Jackets are also 6-4 on the puckline against Carolina. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo is 6-4-3 in his career against the Hurricanes despite having an 89.4 save percentage. He’ll be busy again as the Blue Jackets are giving up 34.4 shots per game, the second-most in the NHL.
Korpisalo has been clutch for Columbus despite his unflattering stats. He only has a 27.3 quality start percentage and an adjusted goals-against average of 4.04. But check his high-danger save percentage of 89.1, which is significantly above his career average of 80.9. If Columbus pull this off, Korpisalo will have to double down.
Blue Jackets vs Hurricanes Head to Head
| Columbus | Stat | Carolina |
| 3-5-2 | Record | 7-1-2 |
| 5-5-0 | Over/Under | 5-5-0 |
| 2.60 | Average Score | 4 |
| 11.11% | Power Play % | 28% |
| 72% | Penalty Kill % | 88.89% |
Blue Jackets vs Hurricanes Game Information
Date: Thursday
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: PNC Arena
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Carolina Hurricanes Live Stream: NHL Live
Blue Jackets vs Hurricanes Betting Lines
| Columbus | Carolina | |
| +220 | Moneyline | -260 |
|
+1½ (-110) |
Puck Line |
-1½ (-110) |
|
6 (-125o) |
Total |
6 (+105u) |
Blue Jackets vs Hurricanes Prediction
Will Columbus beat Carolina? This is highly unlikely, but definitely a likelier possibility than their implied probability of 34.1 percent. The Blue Jackets are sixth in the NHL in scoring chance shooting percent and Korpisalo is capable of robbing a fair share of Hurricanes.
This combo will make it a bit more difficult for Carolina to blow out Columbus, as +105 on their puckline indicates. So even if Carolina is outshooting Columbus 35-20, the difference will only be a goal.
Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets +1½ (-110)
The Hurricanes are scoring four goals a game against the Blue Jackets and have scored four or more goals in three of their last four games. But all of these happened on the road. Carolina is averaging just two goals in its last three home games against Columbus. This one goes under on the sportsbook.
