Wild vs. Blue Jackets Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - Octobe

The Minnesota Wild host the Columbus Blue Jackets in a season opener on Thursday, October 10 at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+.

With the puck dropping for the beginning of the NHL season, here's who we predict will take home the victory in Thursday's action.

Our computer projection model for this contest predicts a final result of Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2.

The Wild finished 7-10-17 in overtime matchups last season on their way to an overall record of 39-33-10.
In the 26 games Minnesota played that were decided by one goal, it had a 9-10-7 record (good for 25 points).
Looking at the 10 times last season the Wild finished a game with just one goal, they had a 1-6-3 record, picking up five points.
Minnesota finished 4-13-3 in the 20 games last season when it scored exactly two goals (registering 11 points).
The Wild scored at least three goals in 48 games (34-10-4, 72 points).
In the 30 games when Minnesota recorded a lone power-play goal, it went 17-11-2 to record 36 points.
In games when it outshot its opponent, Minnesota was 25-15-5 (55 points).
The Wild's opponent had more shots in 37 games last season. The Wild went 14-18-5 in those matchups (33 points).

The Blue Jackets posted a record of 6-12-18 in overtime contests last season on their way to an overall mark of 27-43-12.
Columbus picked up 22 points (6-8-10) in its 24 games decided by one goal.
Last season the Blue Jackets recorded just one goal in 13 games, and they picked up two points (1-12-0).
Columbus accumulated eight points (2-15-4) when scoring a pair of goals last season.
The Blue Jackets scored three or more goals 42 times, accumulating 56 points (24-10-8).
Last season Columbus recorded a lone power-play goal in 26 games, posting a record of 12-7-7.
When it outshot its opponent last season, Columbus posted a record of 11-11-4 (26 points).
The Blue Jackets were outshot by their opponents in 52 games last season, going 16-29-7 to record 39 points.

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Wild Rank	Wild AVG		Blue Jackets AVG	Blue Jackets Rank
21st	3.02	Goals Scored	2.85	24th
20th	3.17	Goals Allowed	3.63	31st
18th	30.1	Shots	30	20th
13th	29.7	Shots Allowed	34.4	31st
10th	22.71%	Power Play %	15.09%	31st
30th	74.52%	Penalty Kill %	76.27%	26th