Hurricanes vs Blue Jackets Prediction NHL Picks 2/29/24
The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Carolina has lost two of their last three games, while Columbus has alternated wins and losses over their last seven games. Let’s take a look at the betting matchup and the Hurricanes vs Blue Jackets prediction.
Hurricanes Preview
The Carolina Hurricanes are 35-18-6 this year after they defeated the Wild by a score of 3-2 in their last game. Carolina trailed 2-1 after the first period, but they scored the last two goals in the game for the win. Carolina was out shot by a total of 30-28 and went 0-2 on the power play in the game. The Hurricanes lost to Buffalo by a score of 3-2 and Dallas by a score of 2-1 in the two games prior to Minnesota. Carolina is scoring 3.27 goals per game and they are allowing 2.73 goals against per game, while going 27.2% on the power play and 84.6% on the penalty kill. Sebastian Aho has led Carolina with 22 goals, 39 assists, and 158 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Carolina is Pyotr Kochetkov, who is 16-10-3 this season with a 2.35 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
Blue Jackets Preview
The Columbus Blue Jackets are 19-29-10 this season after they lost to the Rangers by a score of 4-1 in their last game. Columbus cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third period, but they allowed two empty net goals at the end in the loss. The Blue Jackets out shot New York by a total of 31-30 and went 0-2 on the power play in the game. Columbus did defeat the Rangers by a score of 4-2 in the game prior, but lost to Buffalo before that. The Blue Jackets are scoring 2.95 goals per game and they are allowing 3.67 goals against per game, while going 14.6% on the power play and 76.6% on the penalty kill. Johnny Gaudreau has led Columbus with eight goals, 34 assists, and 114 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Columbus is Daniil Tarasov, who is 4-7-2 this year with a 3.66 goals against average and a .887 save percentage.
Hurricanes vs Blue Jackets Betting Prediction
Columbus comes into this matchup as the worst team in the Metropolitan Division and they will be on a back to back, after playing against the Rangers on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets have picked up a few wins recently, including a win over the Rangers on February 25th, but they are only 10-15-4 at home. Carolina has dropped two of their last three games, but they are 16-11-2 on the road and are in second in the Metro. Carolina is the much better team in this matchup, especially on defense, and I think this is a very tough spot for the Blue Jackets on a back to back. Take Carolina -1.5 here.
