The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets meet Saturday 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 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to bounce back from a 2-1 OT loss at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings last time out to sit at 1-2-2 this season. After this game, Tampa Bay will head home for a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lightning Drop Back-To-Back Games
Entering Friday’s game, Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point each have 5 points with Point logging 2 goals and 3 assists while Guentzel has a goal and a team-high 4 assists. Victor Hedman, Maxwell Crozier and Gage Goncalves each have 3 assists while Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov each have 2 goals and an assist and Darren Raddysh and Oliver Bjorkstrand each have a goal and 2 assists. Yanni Gourde’s added 2 goals and Pontus Holmberg and Ryan McDonagh each have a goal and an assist and Brandon Hagel and J.J. Moser each have an assist as well this season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 0-2-1 with a 4.08 GAA and an .870 save percentage while Jonas Johansson is 1-0 with a 3.02 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The underdogs have won four of the Lightning’s last five games.
- The Blue Jackets have lost each of their last six games following a home loss.
- The Blue Jackets have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last six games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last six games as underdogs against opponents on a losing streak.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Mitchell Chaffee has scored a goal in each of the Lightning’s last three games against the Blue Jackets.
- Jake Guentzel has recorded at least one point in each of his last 15 appearances against the Blue Jackets.
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in seven of the Lightning’s last eight games against the Blue Jackets.
- Jake Guentzel ranks T4th in the league for multi-assist games (2) this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recap
The Columbus Blue Jackets come into this game looking to bounce back from their 4-1 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche to sit at 1-3 this season. After this game, Columbus will head on the road for a game against the Dallas Stars.
Blue Jackets Lose Two In A Row
Kirill Marchenko has a team-high 4 goals and an assist for his 5 points while Dmitri Voronkov has 4 points with 2 goals and 2 assists. Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski each have 3 points with a goal and 2 assists each. Adam Fantilli has 2 points with a goal and an assist while Ivan Provorov has 3 points with a goal and a pair of assists. Miles Wood has a goal of his own. Charlie Coyle, Denton Mateychuk, Cole Sillinger, Zach Aston-Reese and Damon Severson each have an assist as well this year. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 1-1 with a 3.54 GAA and a .920 save percentage in goal for Columbus this year while Jet Greaves is 0-2 with a 2.06 GAA and a .932 save percentage so far this season.
Why the Columbus Blue Jackets will win
- The Lightning have lost each of their last nine night games.
- The Blue Jackets have won each of their last nine games as favorites.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last nine night games.
- The Blue Jackets have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight games.
Columbus Blue Jackets Player Prop Facts
- Adam Fantilli has scored at least one goal in four of the Blue Jackets’ last five games as favorites.
- Kirill Marchenko has recorded an assist in each of the Blue Jackets’ last eight games as favorites.
- Zach Werenski has recorded at least one point in each of the Blue Jackets’ last 16 games as favorites.
- Zach Werenski ranks 1st in the league for average time on ice (27:04) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the last four games between the Lightning and Blue Jackets have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Each of the Lightning’s last four games against opponents on a losing streak have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the last eight Saturday night games between two teams from the Eastern Conference have gone OVER the total goals line.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction
I’m on Columbus here. I don’t love the back-to-back spot for Tampa Bay here as I think there’s a lot to be desired with the Lightning in their current form. On the other side, Columbus is far from a world-beater, but I still think they’re a team that can provide value early on and I think it’s very telling that the Blue Jackets are the slightest of favorites here. Give me Columbus in this one.