The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Arizona Coyotes meet in NHL action from the Gila River Arena on Thursday night.
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be looking to build on their 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in their last game. Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 15 points including 5 goals and 10 assists while Jakub Voracek has 13 points with a team-high 12 assists. Patrik Laine’s got 10 points with 7 assists while Boone Jenner’s on 9 points with a team-high 7 goals. Vladislav Namestnikov has a team-best +8 plus/minus rating as well this season. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 6-2 with a 2.49 GAA and a .925 save percentage while Joonas Korpisalo’s gone 2-3 with a 3.56 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season.
The Arizona Coyotes will look to add to their 3-2 win over St. Louis in their last game. Shayne Gostisbehere leads the Coyotes with 13 points including a team-high 11 assists while Lawson Crouse has 8 points split between a team-high 4 goals and 4 assists. Phil Kessel also has 7 points with 5 assists this season. Karel Vejmelka has seen the bulk of Arizona’s action in goal, but has still yet to record a win, going 0-9-1 with a 3.29 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season.
Columbus is 4-1 in their last 5 games as a favorite and 8-24 in their last 32 games following a win while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games against a team with a losing record. Arizona is 1-7 in their last 8 home games and 15-37 in their last 52 games as an underdog while the under is 7-2 in their last 9 games overall.
I can usually make a case for a home dog in certain spots, but this is not one of them. The Arizona Coyotes may have picked up a win recently, but a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in a while and just because the Coyotes got a win, doesn’t mean I’m looking to back them long term. Columbus is the better team with the far better goaltending, and I think they pick up a big win and do so on the -1.5 puck line as well.