The Florida Panthers and the Columbus Blue Jackets meet Thursday in NHL action from the Nationwide Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Florida Panthers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets prediction.
Matchup History
The Florida Panthers have won both meetings so far this season, with a 4-3 win in Columbus back on October 15th, 2024 before a 3-0 win at home on March 6th, 2025. The Florida Panthers have now won the last 7 head-to-head meetings against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Florida Panthers Recap
The Florida Panthers come into this game looking to bounce back from a 4-2 loss at the hands of the New York Islanders last time out to sit at 41-24-3 on the year. After this game, Florida will head on the road one more time to close out their road trip with a game against the Washington Capitals.
Panthers Lose Back-To-Back Games
Sam Reinhart has a team-high 72 points including 33 goals and 39 assists while Sam Bennett has 45 points with 22 goals and 23 assists and Anton Lundell has 41 points of his own with 15 goals and 26 assists. Aleksander Barkov also has 62 points with 44 assists of his own while Carter Verhaeghe has 46 points with 17 goals and 29 assists and Matthew Tkachuk has 57 points with 22 goals and 35 assists. Sergei Bobrovsky is 28-15-2 with a 2.51 GAA and a .906 save percentage in goal for Florida this season.
Why the Florida Panthers will win
- The Panthers have won each of their last seven games against the Blue Jackets.
- The Blue Jackets have lost each of their last four games.
- The Blue Jackets have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five night games at Nationwide Arena against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Panthers have covered the puck line in 15 of their last 20 games against the Blue Jackets.
Florida Panthers Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored at least one goal in each of his last seven appearances with the Panthers as favorites.
- Matthew Tkachuk has recorded at least one point in each of his last 12 appearances against the Blue Jackets.
- Aaron Ekblad has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six appearances after playing less than 20 minutes in the Panthers’ last game.
- Aleksander Barkov ranks T1st in the league for shootout goals (3) this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recap
The Columbus Blue Jackets come into this game looking to bounce back from a 2-1 loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils last time out to sit at 31-28-8 this season. After this game, Columbus will head on the road for a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Blue Jackets Drop 4 Straight & 6 Of Last 7
Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 69 points including 20 goals and a team-high 49 assists while Kirill Marchenko has 62 points with a team-high 25 goals and 37 assists. Sean Monahan has 41 points with 14 goals and 27 assists while Dmitri Voronkov has 42 points with 20 goals and 22 assists. Kent Johnson has 45 points with 21 goals and 24 assists. Daniil Tarasov is 7-8-2 with a 3.51 GAA and an .882 save percentage while Elvis Merzlikins is 22-18-4 with a 2.99 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season between the pipes for Columbus. Jet Greaves has also gone 2-2-2 with a 2.83 GAA and a .905 save percentage as well for the Blue Jackets.
Why the Columbus Blue Jackets will win
- The Blue Jackets have won each of their last five games as home underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Panthers have lost five of their last six games as road favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Blue Jackets have covered the puck line in each of their last eight games as home underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last six games as road favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
Columbus Blue Jackets Player Prop Facts
- Zach Werenski has recorded at least one assist in each of the Blue Jackets’ last eight home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Sean Monahan has scored at least one goal in four of his last five appearances with the Blue Jackets as home underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Sean Monahan has recorded at least one point in each of his last nine appearances with the Blue Jackets as home underdogs.
- Zach Werenski ranks 1st in the league for average time on ice (26:60) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Blue Jackets’ last nine home games against Atlantic Division opponents has gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Panthers’ last eight road games against Metropolitan Division opponents have gone OVER the total goals line.
Florida Panthers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction
I’m on the Panthers in this one. I just think that the Panthers in this game are the better team in better form, and while Columbus has been able to bring us value at home in some spots, I don’t believe this is one of those. The Panthers have had no problems beating up on teams they should beat up on this season and Columbus is just in a funk that makes it hard to want to back them. Give me Florida in this game.