Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction 12-17-24 NHL Picks

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Tuesday in NHL action from the Amalie 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.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recap

The Columbus Blue Jackets come into this one looking to bounce back after a 4-1 loss to Carolina last time out. After this game, Columbus will head home for a matchup with New Jersey.

Blue Jackets Lose 4^th In A Row

Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 31 points including 10 goals and a team-high 21 assists while Kirill Marchenko has 29 points with a team-high 11 goals and 18 assists. Sean Monahan has 25 points with 9 goals and 16 assists while Cole Sillinger has 19 points with 14 assists. Daniil Tarasov is 3-5-1 with a 4.26 GAA and a .857 save percentage while Elvis Merzlikins is 9-9-2 with a 3.11 GAA and an .887 save percentage this season between the pipes for Columbus.

Why the Columbus Blue Jackets will win

• The Blue Jackets have won four of their last five games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
• The Lightning have lost three of their last four games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The road team has covered the puck line in seven of the Lightning’s last eight games.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games against Eastern Conference opponents.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recap

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be out to add to their 5-1 win over Seattle last time out. After this game, Tampa Bay will welcome the St. Louis Blues to town.

Lightning Win Back-To-Back Games

Nikita Kucherov leads the Bolts with 46 points including a team-high 14 goals and 32 assists while Brandon Hagel has 35 points with 15 goals and 20 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 27 points of his own with 15 assists. Brayden Point has 36 points with 20 goals and 16 assists while Victor Hedman has 25 points with 21 assists. Jake Guentzel also has 31 points with 17 goals and 14 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 13-9-1 with a 2.41 GAA and a .910 save percentage while Jonas Johansson has gone 3-1-1 with a 3.84 GAA and an .882 save percentage on the year in goal for Tampa Bay.

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win

• The Blue Jackets have lost each of their last 10 Tuesday road games.
• The Lightning have won each of their last seven home games against the Blue Jackets.
• The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last five games.
• The Blue Jackets have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games at Amalie Arena.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction

I’m on the Lightning here. Tampa Bay is just the better team in this matchup and Columbus has been much easier to back and provide value when they’re at home, but on the road, the Blue Jackets are a much different team, and not in a good way. Tampa Bay plays their best at home as well and these are just two teams headed in different directions. Give me Tampa Bay -1.5.