Columbus Blue Jackets at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 2/9/2018

Friday, February 9, 2018

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to Capital One Arena to play the Washington Capitals on Friday, February 9, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +131 and the Capitals at -145.

Columbus has a record of 27-22-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 11-12-3-3. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 139 goals and given up 150 goals for a point differential of -11. For the season they have an ATS record of 27-26-0 and an over/under record of 22-30-0. Washington has a record of 31-17-5 including 19-8-1-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 165 goals and surrendered 154 for a goal differential of +11. Their record against the spread is 31-22-0 while their over/under record is 30-23-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 27-26-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 22-30-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 31-22-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 30-23-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/01/17 D Ryan Murray Upper Body IR (11/27)
01/17/18 LW Sonny Milano Oblique IR (01/08)

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Sergei Bobrovsky has 22 wins and 17 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,339 shots against him and he's given up 107 goals. He's made 1,232 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Artemi Panarin has accumulated 42 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 13 goals this year with 150 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 29 assists on the season and averages 20.5 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 5% by scoring 8 goals on 167 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 58 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 32 goals this season with 224 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 26 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. Braden Holtby has 27 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,219 shots against him and he's surrendered 104 goals. He's made 1,115 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 12 goals on 98 shots. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 41 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have allowed 137 power play opportunities and have given up 34 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75% this year. That is 27th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.75% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 11th in the league. The Blue Jackets has 58 total points this season, ranking 19th in the NHL in offense. They are 25th in the league with 139 goals while they've given up 150 goals, which is 21st overall. They have had 149 power play opportunities and scored 21 goals on those chances for a percentage of 14%. That is 31st in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Capitals are 10th with 165 goals scored while they are 17th in the NHL with 154 goals allowed this year. They average 29 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.80%. They give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 19th place in the league. The Capitals have a total of 67 points this year, which is 8th in the NHL. They have 34 power play goals on 164 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks their power play unit 11th. They've allowed 176 power play opportunities and have given up 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, which is 22nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.8%, as they've attempted 3,180 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,074 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.1% as they have 2,466 attempts while they have given up 2,269 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 5th in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 52.4% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.6% for the season. That is 21st overall in the NHL. They have 1,553 face-off wins compared to 1,697 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That ranks them 25th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,179 hits and they have blocked 805 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.2% for the year. That ranks them 20th and 14th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,583 face-off wins as opposed to 1,552 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That is 14th in the league. On defense Washington has 1,194 hits and they've blocked 750 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 23rd in blocked shots. Washington is ranked 26th in Corsi percentage with 47.9% as they've tried 2,953 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,214 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 31st in the NHL at 46.8%, as they have 2,166 shots while they've given up 2,464 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Washington -145

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