Chicago Blackhawks vs Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Picks, Odds, Predictions 1/29/21

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Chicago Blackhawks meet in NHL action from the United Center on Friday night.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to build off of a 3-2 shootout win over Florida last time out. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Texier lead the Jackets in scoring with 6 points with Texier scoring 4 goals and Bjorkstrand logging 4 assists with 20 shots on goal this season. Boone Jenner has 2 goals and 3 assists for his 5 points while Michael Del Zotto has 4 assists and Nick Foligno has 4 points with 3 goals. The next five Blue Jackets all have 3 points this season as well for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins have split the team’s goaltending action, with Korpisalo posting a 2.45 GAA while Merzlikins has a pair of wins with a 2.94 GAA this season.

The Chicago Blackhawks will try to rebound from a 2-1 loss in a shootout to Nashville last time out. Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks in scoring with 7 points on 3 goals and 4 assists while Alex DeBrincat has 6 points with 4 assists. Connor Murphy, Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Strome each have 5 points coming on 2 goals with 3 assists while Duncan Keith has 5 assists on the year. Mattius Janmark and Pius Suter each have 4 points with 3 goals and an assist. Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia each have a pair of losses in goal while Kevin Lankinen has both of Chicago’s wins in goal this season, posting a 2.18 GAA this season.

Columbus is 3-8 in their last 11 games overall and 1-4 in their last 5 road games while the under is 13-6-2 last 21 games overall. Chicago is 6-1 in their last 7 home games and 2-7 in their last 9 games overall while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games a home underdog. Columbus is 7-21 in the last 28 meetings between these two teams and 2-10 in the last 12 meetings between these two teams in Chicago.

The Blue Jackets have the better goaltending, which is something considering I’m not high on this Columbus team at all. However, as bad as Chicago looked early this season, the Blackhawks have actually been competitive as of late and that will help considering they’ve owned the Blue Jackets in this matchup over the years. I think Chicago getting plus money is one of the better value plays on the board on Friday.