Columbus Blue Jackets at Los Angeles Kings NHL Picks & Predictions 3/1/2018

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Staples Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to Staples Center to play the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, March 1, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +135 and the Kings at -149.

Columbus has a record of 32-26-5 this season and on the road they have a record of 13-15-3-3. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 168 goals and given up 175 goals for a point differential of -7. For the season they have an ATS record of 32-31-0 and an over/under record of 27-35-0. Los Angeles has a record of 35-24-5 including 15-11-3-0 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 184 goals and surrendered 158 for a goal differential of +26. Their record against the spread is 35-29-0 while their over/under record is 28-33-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 32-31-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 27-35-0 against the over/under this season

Important Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends

The Los Angeles Kings are 35-29-0 straight up this year

The Los Angeles Kings are 28-33-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

02/27/18 RW Josh Anderson Knee is out indefinitely
02/27/18 LW Thomas Vanek Acquired is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Los Angeles
02/20/18 D Markus Nutivaara Upper Body IR (02/16)
02/19/18 LW Nick Foligno Lower Body IR (02/18)
02/19/18 D Dean Kukan Upper Body IR (02/18)

Key Los Angeles Kings Injuries

02/28/18 C Trevor Lewis Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Columbus

Player Spotlight

Sergei Bobrovsky has 27 wins and 20 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,579 shots against him and he's given up 126 goals. He's made 1,453 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Artemi Panarin has accumulated 52 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 18 goals this year with 174 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 34 assists on the season and averages 20.4 minutes played per game. Seth Jones averages 24.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by scoring 9 goals on 207 shots. He has 31 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Anze Kopitar has scored 70 total points this year for the Kings. He has 27 goals this season with 156 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 43 assists on the season and averages 22.1 minutes played per game. Jonathan Quick has 24 wins and 23 losses this year in goal for the Kings. He has 1,459 shots against him and he's surrendered 114 goals. He's made 1,345 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Dustin Brown averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 19 goals on 162 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have allowed 162 power play opportunities and have given up 38 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77% this year. That is 27th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.76% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 9th in the league. The Blue Jackets has 69 total points this season, ranking 19th in the NHL in offense. They are 24th in the league with 168 goals while they've given up 175 goals, which is 23rd overall. They have had 175 power play opportunities and scored 27 goals on those chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 30th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Kings are 16th with 184 goals scored while they are 30th in the NHL with 158 goals allowed this year. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.26%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 2nd place in the league. The Kings have a total of 75 points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 38 power play goals on 188 opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That ranks their power play unit 15th. They've allowed 215 power play opportunities and have given up 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, which is 2nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.6%, as they've attempted 3,837 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,601 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.7% as they have 2,971 attempts while they have given up 2,662 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 3rd in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 53.3% of the time, which is 4th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.7% for the season. That is 24th overall in the NHL. They have 1,837 face-off wins compared to 1,992 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48%. That ranks them 26th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,387 hits and they have blocked 939 shots from the opposition, putting them 13th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Kings start possessions in the offensive zone 50.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the year. That ranks them 14th and 14th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,893 face-off wins as opposed to 1,970 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49%. That is 21st in the league. On defense Los Angeles has 1,633 hits and they've blocked 936 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 14th in blocked shots. Los Angeles is ranked 16th in Corsi percentage with 49.5% as they've tried 3,708 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,779 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 20th in the NHL at 49.3%, as they have 2,765 shots while they've given up 2,843 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Blue Jackets/Kings NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Los Angeles -149

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