Columbus vs Carolina

Carolina’s recent wobble masks how strong the underlying edge still is tonight, especially with Columbus rolling in on a two-game losing skid after the 7-6 collapse in Florida and a 2-0 shutout in Washington, while the Canes have dropped two of three but just finished a dominant 6-3 win over Nashville sandwiched between flat home efforts versus Toronto and San Jose. With Boone Jenner, Mathieu Olivier and Erik Gudbranson all on injured reserve, the Blue Jackets are missing their captain, a key physical depth forward and a veteran defender, whereas Carolina’s biggest absence remains Jaccob Slavin on the back end while their forward group — Aho, Seth Jarvis, Taylor Hall, Nikolaj Ehlers, Jesperi Kotkaniemi — is fully active according to ESPN’s current rosters. Factor in Aho’s 34 points in 37 career games against Columbus and Zach Werenski’s strong history of driving play versus Carolina, and you still get a matchup tilted toward the Hurricanes’ superior five-on-five shot share, deeper top six and home-ice advantage, even if both teams are still shy of the 41-game halfway mark and more focused on positioning than true playoff desperation. Laying -220 on the Carolina moneyline isn’t cheap, but with a healthier core, better underlying numbers and a Jackets team finishing a tough road swing, I grade Hurricanes -220 as a B+ play for solid win probability with only moderate value. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 09/12/2025 09:37am

Totals here are tricky because Columbus is coming off a two-game stretch that featured both a 13-goal track meet in Sunrise and then getting blanked in D.C., while Carolina’s last three have swung from scoring six against Nashville to mustering just a single goal in losses to Toronto and San Jose. Slavin’s continued absence leaves the Canes’ defense a bit more vulnerable than usual, and Boone Jenner’s injury removes a key net-front presence from Columbus, but both teams still dress plenty of offensive talent, led by Aho and Jarvis for Carolina and an emerging Adam Fantilli plus shooters like Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov for the Jackets on currently listed ESPN rosters. Carolina ranks among the league’s better clubs in goals scored and shot volume while limiting shots against, and Columbus brings a negative goal differential with a shaky penalty kill, which could matter if the Canes’ power play looks more like the multi-goal unit that just carved up Nashville than the one that sputtered earlier in the homestand. With both sides under 41 games played, defensive structure can still be inconsistent, and the combination of Carolina’s territorial dominance and Columbus’s leaky PK nudges me toward Over 6.5 at -105 — but strong recent goaltending from Jet Greaves and a deep Hurricanes crease keeps the variance high, so I grade this total only a C+ for medium risk and modest upside. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 09/12/2025 09:37am

With the puckline sitting at Columbus +1.5 (-135) and Carolina -1.5 (-115), the question is whether the Canes can turn their edge into multi-goal separation, and the recent form plus personnel suggests they often can. The Blue Jackets have just endured a wild one-goal loss followed by a low-event regulation defeat, and they arrive in Raleigh without Boone Jenner down the middle or bruiser Mathieu Olivier, while Gudbranson’s absence further thins a blue line that already leans heavily on Werenski to handle top matchups. Carolina, meanwhile, still owns one of the league’s most territorial five-on-five profiles — high shots for, few shots against — and now has a fully stocked top nine with Aho, Jarvis, Ehlers and Hall all healthy and in rhythm, which is bad news for a Columbus team with a negative goal differential and a penalty kill that has struggled through the first 29 games. Even with Slavin on IR and a banged-up defense corps that occasionally gives up rush chances, the Hurricanes’ ability to drive play at home and Aho’s long track record of success against the Jackets make the -1.5 puckline attractive at a reasonably priced -115, correlated with the heavy moneyline but offering a better payout, so I grade Carolina -1.5 as a B for higher volatility but worthwhile return if their shot volume translates into the kind of two- or three-goal win their profile often points toward. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 09/12/2025 09:37am