Los Angeles Kings vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction 2-20-24 Picks

The Columbus Blue Jackets will play the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Columbus has lost two of their last three games, while Los Angeles is on a three game winning streak. Let’s take a look at the betting matchup and the Blue Jackets vs Kings prediction.

Blue Jackets Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 17-26-10 this year after they defeated San Jose by a score of 4-3 in their last game. Columbus blew a 3-1 lead in the second period, but they were able to score with 13 seconds left in the game for the win. The Blue Jackets out shot San Jose by a total of 41-31 and went 0-3 on the power play in the game. Columbus has lost six of their last nine games, with the other two wins during that span coming against St. Louis and Calgary. The Blue Jackets are scoring 2.92 goals per game and they are allowing 3.70 goals against per game, while going 14.4% on the power play and 76.1% on the penalty kill. Johnny Gaudreau has led Columbus with seven goals, 30 assists, and 107 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins, who is 10-11-7 this season with a 3.21 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. 

Kings Preview

The Los Angeles Kings are 27-16-10 this season after they defeated the Penguins by a score of 2-1 in their last game. Los Angeles trailed 1-0 in the third period, but they scored two goals late for the win. The Kings out shot Pittsburgh by a total of 33-30 and went 0-3 on the power play in the game. Los Angeles defeated Boston by a score of 5-4 and New Jersey by a score of 2-1 in the two games prior to Pittsburgh. The Kings are scoring 3.09 goals per game and they are allowing 2.64 goals against per game, while going 21.2% on the power play and 86.5% on the penalty kill. Adrian Kempe has led Los Angeles with 19 goals, 28 assists, and 163 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Los Angeles is David Rittich, who is 8-2-3 this year with a 2.25 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. 

Los Angeles Kings Team Facts

• The underdogs have won each of the Kings’ last five games.
• The Kings have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven games as home favorites.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Kings’ last 10 games at Crypto.com Arena.
• The underdogs have won the third period in each of the Kings’ last five games.

Columbus Blue Jackets Team Facts

• The Blue Jackets have lost 15 of their last 16 games following a road win.
• The Blue Jackets have covered the puck line in five of their last six games against the Kings.
• The Blue Jackets have lost the third period in 16 of their last 20 games as underdogs against opponents on a winning streak.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in six of the Blue Jackets’ last seven games against Pacific Division opponents.

Los Angeles Kings Player Prop Facts

• Quinton Byfield has scored at least one goal in three of the Kings’ last four games at Crypto.com Arena.
• Kevin Fiala has recorded at least one point in each of his last six appearances with his team as a favorite against the Blue Jackets.
• Kevin Fiala has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six appearances with his team as a favorite against the Blue Jackets.
• Drew Doughty ranks 1st in the Western Conference for average time on ice (25:54) this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Player Prop Facts

• Boone Jenner has scored at least one goal in each of the Blue Jackets’ last three games.
• Johnny Gaudreau has recorded at least one point in seven of his last eight appearances against the Kings.
• Johnny Gaudreau has recorded at least one assist in each of the Blue Jackets’ last five games as underdogs.
• Boone Jenner has the most multi-goal games for the Blue Jackets this season (3).

Matchup/League Facts

• The Los Angeles Kings rank 1st in the league for power play goals against this season (23).
• The Los Angeles Kings rank 3rd in the league for shots per game this season (33.5).
• The Columbus Blue Jackets rank 26th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (76.13%).
• The Columbus Blue Jackets rank 32nd in the league for Period 3 goals allowed per game this season (1.51).

Blue Jackets vs Kings Betting Prediction

The Kings come into this game off of a very successful road trip and they have won three games in a row, but they are just 9-9-6 at home this season. Columbus is 8-12-6 on the road, but they have won two of their last four games. The Kings are only allowing 2.64 goals against per game on defense, which is going to be an issue for a low scoring Columbus team here. The Kings are the way better team in this matchup, but it’s never easy playing a game after a road trip. I think the Kings could come out slow here and I think it’s worth a play on the Blue Jackets with the big plus money.