Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers NHL Picks & Predictions 2/22/2018

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Wells Fargo Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to Wells Fargo Center to play the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, February 22, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +110 and the Flyers at -154.

Columbus has a record of 30-25-5 this season and on the road they have a record of 13-14-3-3. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 159 goals and given up 170 goals for a point differential of -11. For the season they have an ATS record of 30-30-0 and an over/under record of 26-33-0. Philadelphia has a record of 31-19-10 including 15-9-6-3 at home this season. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 181 goals and surrendered 174 for a goal differential of +7. Their record against the spread is 31-29-0 while their over/under record is 32-26-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 30-30-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 26-33-0 against the over/under this season

Important Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 31-29-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 32-26-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

02/20/18 D Markus Nutivaara Undisclosed is "?" Thursday vs Philadelphia
02/19/18 LW Nick Foligno Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/19/18 D Dean Kukan Upper Body IR (02/18)

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

02/20/18 GO Michal Neuvirth Lower Body IR (02/17)
02/20/18 C Travis Konecny Foot injured last game, is "?" Thursday vs Columbus
02/20/18 RW Wayne Simmonds Upper Body is out indefinitely
02/13/18 GO Brian Elliott Abdominal IR (02/10)

Player Spotlight

Sergei Bobrovsky has 25 wins and 19 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,500 shots against him and he's given up 121 goals. He's made 1,379 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Artemi Panarin has accumulated 48 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 16 goals this year with 170 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 32 assists on the season and averages 20.4 minutes played per game. Seth Jones averages 25 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by scoring 8 goals on 193 shots. He has 28 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Claude Giroux has scored 70 total points this year for the Flyers. He has 20 goals this season with 131 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 50 assists on the season and averages 20.3 minutes played per game. Petr Mrazek has 8 wins and 7 losses this year in goal for the Flyers. He has 630 shots against him and he's surrendered 57 goals. He's made 573 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Jakub Voracek averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 7% by scoring 13 goals on 175 shots. He has 55 assists, giving him a total of 68 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have allowed 151 power play opportunities and have given up 36 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76% this year. That is 27th in the NHL. They average 35 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.64% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 12th in the league. The Blue Jackets has 65 total points this season, ranking 19th in the NHL in offense. They are 26th in the league with 159 goals while they've given up 170 goals, which is 21st overall. They have had 168 power play opportunities and scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 14%. That is 31st in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Flyers are 12th with 181 goals scored while they are 17th in the NHL with 174 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.53%. They give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 21st place in the league. The Flyers have a total of 72 points this year, which is 11th in the NHL. They have 43 power play goals on 199 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks their power play unit 6th. They've allowed 172 power play opportunities and have given up 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, which is 28th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.6%, as they've attempted 3,689 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,454 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.8% as they have 2,859 attempts while they have given up 2,551 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 3rd in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 53.6% of the time, which is 4th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.4% for the season. That is 28th overall in the NHL. They have 1,756 face-off wins compared to 1,910 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.9%. That ranks them 25th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,316 hits and they have blocked 903 shots from the opposition, putting them 13th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Flyers are 18th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.7% for the season, which is 14th in the NHL. They have 1,912 face-off wins compared to 1,695 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53%. That is 4th in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 1,242 hits and they have blocked 881 shots from the opposition, which is 15th in the league. Philadelphia is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.4% as they've attempted 3,455 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,405 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.7% ranks 14th as they have 2,594 attempts while they have given up 2,524 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Philadelphia -154

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald