Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 Picks & Predictions 4/10/2019

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at +255 and the Lightning at -310.

Columbus has a record of 47-31-4 this season. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 256 goals and given up 231 goals for a point differential of +25. For the season they have an ATS record of 47-35-0 and an over/under record of 31-45-0. Tampa Bay is 62-16-4 this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 319 goals and surrendered 221 for a goal differential of +98. Their record against the spread is 62-20-0 while their over/under record is 44-35-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 47-35-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 31-45-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 62-20-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 44-35-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

04/06/19 D Adam McQuaid Concussion is questionable Wednesday vs Tampa Bay
02/21/19 D Ryan Murray Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

04/08/19 D Dan Girardi Lower Body is questionable Wednesday vs Columbus
04/07/19 D Victor Hedman Upper Body is questionable Wednesday vs Columbus

Player Spotlight

Cam Atkinson has accumulated 69 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 41 goals this year with 295 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 28 assists on the season and averages 19.4 minutes played per game. Artemi Panarin averages 19.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 28 goals on 191 shots. He has 59 assists, giving him a total of 87 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 37 wins and 24 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,756 shots against him and he's given up 153 goals. He's made 1,603 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Steven Stamkos has scored 98 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 45 goals this season with 234 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 53 assists on the season and averages 18.3 minutes played per game. Nikita Kucherov averages 20 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 41 goals on 246 shots. He has 87 assists, giving him a total of 128 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 39 wins and 10 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 1,713 shots against him and he's surrendered 128 goals. He's made 1,585 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 98 total points this season, which ranks them 13th in the NHL. They are 12th in the league in goals scored with 256 while they've given up 231 goals, ranking them 21st overall. They have had 221 power play opportunities and have scored 34 goals on those chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 28th in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have allowed 200 power play opportunities and have given up 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%, putting them 2nd in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.88% for the season. They allow 29 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 18th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning are 1st in the NHL with a total of 128 points this year. They have 74 power play goals on 262 opportunities for a percentage of 28%. That ranks them 1st in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 267 power play opportunities and have given up 40 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%. That is 1st in the NHL. As a team, the Lightning are 1st in the league with 319 goals scored while they've given up 221 goals, which is 24th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 12.18%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 3rd in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.9%, as they've attempted 4,572 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,402 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.7% as they have 3,565 attempts while they have given up 3,326 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 9th in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 52% of the time, which is 11th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 2,434 face-off wins compared to 2,410 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That ranks them 16th in the league. On defense Columbus has 1,741 hits and they have blocked 1,076 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning are 19th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50% for the season, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 2,520 face-off wins compared to 2,401 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 8th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 2,116 hits and they have blocked 1,125 shots from the opposition, which is 20th in the league. Tampa Bay is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.3% as they've attempted 4,716 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,666 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.4% ranks 13th as they have 3,604 attempts while they have given up 3,541 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -310

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