The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings meet in NHL action from the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. Let’s dive into the odds, injuries, matchup history and make a prediction for this game.
Odds
Los Angeles is listed as a -300 home favorite while Columbus is a +215 road underdog. The total for this game is set at 6.5 goals.
Injuries
For Columbus, Elvis Merzlikins is out indefinitely with an illness and Sean Kuraly is out until mid-April with an oblique injury. Los Angeles has Kevin Fiala and Sean Durzi listed as questionable for this game.
Matchup History
Columbus’ 6-5 OT win back on December 11th, 2022, snapped L.A.’s two-game head-to-head win streak in this matchup.
Trends
Columbus is 1-6 in their last 7 Thursday games and 4-0 in their last 4 games played on 1 days rest while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games overall. Los Angeles is 6-1 in their last 7 games overall and 7-1 in their last 8 home games while the over is 10-2-1 in their last 13 games after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Pick
I’m backing the Kings on the puck line here. Los Angeles is simply the better team and they’ve been on an absolute tear in a lot of their recent games. Columbus on the other hand is the worst team in the league and every win hurts their draft positioning. I think this is a spot where the Kings get a big win at home here so give me the Kings -1.5 here.