Tonight’s matchup between Columbus and Carolina is going to be skewed by the fact that starting goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is ruled out due to illness. With Merzlikins out the lines for Carolina are juiced up pretty high with the team total coming in at 3.5 -150. With Danil Tarasov in net I don’t see this being as much of an issue for Carolina, and had Merzlikins been in net this game would have gone a lot different than the public may expect. While I don’t feel there is too much to write about for tonight’s game I think what’s best for us is to prepare what to expect the next time these two teams meet. Elvis Merzlikins, as mentioned in my Columbus write up, is a very skilled goalie in this league and has the ability to play as a top 10 goalie. Columbus is a much better team than the books are giving them credit for and if Merzlikins was playing tonight I would be hesitant playing Carolina tonight on the ML and on the team total. Tonight’s game should be lopsided in Carolina’s favor and should play a part in the odds the next time these two teams meet favoring Carolina more which could give us an edge on Columbus. Columbus’ blue line is very weak and Carolina should be able to put up four tonight with Merzlikins out. Frederik Andersen missed the end of last season and is playing his first regular season game since April. Andersen has played in preseason but his injury return is worth noting. The acquisition of Johnny Gaudreau is going to help this team so I expect scoring on both sides. We have futures on Gaudreau and Patrick Laine who both play for Columbus and will be on watch in this game. I expect tonight’s gameflow to be fast paced in the beginning with possibly limited scoring early. The totals should be in play on the game and for Carolina and depending on which books you play on I would play it as far down to 5.5 if you can. The current posted lines are at 6.5 but they are juiced to the under. While I expect Columbus’ top line to score tonight I don’t necessarily see Columbus putting up three or more. 

Prediction:

Carolina wins 4-2 / 5-2 / 4-3

Official Bets:

Carolina TT over 3.5 -150: 1u

Additional Recommended Plays:

Game over 5.5 -175

Carolina TT over 2.5/3 in parlays