Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Preview
Looking to win big? The Lightning and Blue Jackets face off at 7:00 ET on ESPN+. The Blue Jackets are hosting the game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
The Lightning come into this Eastern conference matchup as the -1.5 goal favorite. The over/under line currently sits at 6.5 goals. Check out BetCoco for Columbus Blue Jackets – Tampa Bay Lightning odds
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Head-to-Head and Key Stats
The Lightning and Blue Jackets did not have any head-to-head matchups last season. But over the last three times playing each other, the Lightning have a record of 2-1. The Lightning also had the edge vs. the puck line in these games, at 2-1. These games averaged a combined total of 6 goals per game leading to an over/under record of 1-2.
- Through their last ten road games, Tampa Bay has an puck line record of just 3-7. However, their overall record was 4-6 while averaging 2 goals per game.
- In their last five games at home, the Blue Jackets have a straight up record of 1-4 while going 2-3 vs the spread. The team’s offense averaged 2 goals per game in these contests.
- In their last five games as the betting underdog, the Blue Jackets have a straight up record of 2-3 and an puck line mark of 3-2.
- As the betting favorite, the Lightning have an puck line mark of just 7-3 in their last ten games. Tampa Bay posted a straight up mark of 9-1 in these matchups.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction
On the season, the Lightning have a record of 27-20-5, which has them in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. Within the Atlantic Division, Tampa Bay is in 4th place. Over their last ten games, the Lightning have gone 7-3. When playing on the road, Tampa Bay has a record of 10-15-2.
So far this season, the Lightning have been favored in 29 of their 52 games, going 19-9-1 in those games. Tampa Bay has lost their last two games and is on a two-game losing streak on the road. Over their last five games, the Lightning have gone 3-2.
The Lightning come into the game scoring an average of 3.4 goals per game, putting them 4th in the NHL. Regarding shots targeted at the goal per game, they are 15th in the league. The Tampa Bay offense is ranked 1st in power play goals. As for shorthanded goals, they find themselves at 27th in the NHL.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy gets the start and has made 27 starts this season. His record at this point is 16-11, and his save percentage is 0.728%.
At home this season, the Blue Jackets have gone 9-13-4 and are 16-24-10 overall. In the Eastern Conference, Columbus is in 16th place and 8th in the Metropolitan Division. As the underdog, the Blue Jackets have a record of 15-22-9 this season.
Over their last ten games, the Blue Jackets have gone just 3-7 and have lost two of their last three games. For the season, Columbus has been the underdog in 46 of their 50 games. In games against other Eastern Conference teams, the Blue Jackets have gone 9-23.
On offense, the Blue Jackets are averaging 2.9 goals per game which is 23rd in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are 22nd in the league. In terms of power play goals, the Blue Jackets offense is 29th in power play goals. As for shorthanded goals, they are 30th in the NHL.
Goalie Elvis Merzlikins comes into the game having made 28 starts this season. So far, his record is 9-10 and he has a save percentage of 0.816%.
Even though they are considered 1.5-goal underdogs, our projection points to a 4-3 win for the Blue Jackets.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Tips
- We like the Blue Jackets on the moneyline (+145)
- The Blue Jackets are also our pick on the spread at +1.5
- Our NHL model projects 7 goals, and we suggest taking the under
Columbus Blue Jackets Injury Report
- Patrik Laine – Shoulder – Out
- Adam Boqvist – Upper Body – Out
- Adam Fantilli – Leg – Out
Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Report
- Haydn Fleury – Hand – Questionable
- Brent Seabrook – Shoulder/Back/Hip – Out
- Mikhail Sergachev – Leg – Out
- Logan Brown – Undisclosed – Out
- Tanner Jeannot – Upper Body – Out
