Florida Panthers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - 12/31/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Florida Panthers vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: FSFL

Odds/Point Spread: Panthers (+109) Blue Jackets (-120)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Joonas Korpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets (17-14-8, 7th in the Metropolitan Division) host the Florida Panthers (20-13-5, 3rd in the Atlantic Division) at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday, December 31, 2019. The Panthers open this matchup at +109 while the Blue Jackets are priced at -120. The O/U is set at 6. The Panthers are covering 48.6% of the time, having gone 17-18 SU. The Blue Jackets are covering 43.6% of the time, going 17-22 straight up.

The Florida Panthers head into this game holding a record of 20 wins and 13 losses, ranking them 3rd in the Atlantic Division. So far this year, they have earned a total of 135 goals which puts them at 4th in the conference and 5th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +8, ranking them 12th in the NHL. The Panthers currently have a total of 45 points, which puts them at 14th in the NHL and 8th in the Eastern Conference. In connection with shots at the opposing goalie, they currently have a total of 1,262 which puts them at 6th in the East and 11th in the NHL. As a unit, Florida has a total of 648 hits which means they have an average of 17.1 per contest. They currently have a total of 473 blocks for the season. Protecting the goal for Florida is Sergei Bobrovsky from Ogdensburg, New York. He is 31 years old and has played 1,691 mins protecting the goal this year. Bobrovsky is allowing 3.26 goals against average which puts him at 28th among East goaltenders and 58th among goaltenders in the NHL. So far this year, he's surrendered 92 goals. His save % is .898 which puts him at 26th among East goaltenders.

Related: NHL Totals Betting: Expert Tips and Advice

The Florida Panthers had a good night with a 6 - 5 win against the Montreal Canadiens in their last contest. The Panthers had a solid offensive performance and it showed in this victory. For this game, they converted 6 out of the 34 shots they tried. They also had 5 power play attempts but weren't able to score. Florida racked up 8 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Panthers was 48 and the Corsi against was 66 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 42.1%. Their Fenwick was 34 and the Fenwick against was 50, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 40.5%. They earned 26 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 28 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts came in at 34.1% and they had a PDO of 112.6 for this matchup. Concerning opponent stats, the Montreal Canadiens earned a total of 43 shots. They had 10 penalty mins and they tallied 4 power play opportunities.

The Blue Jackets will be the team on the other side of the ice and for the season they have 17 wins and 14 defeats. In connection with goal differential, they are currently sitting 13th in the conference and 21st in the league with -8. They currently have a total of 101 goals for the season which is good for 14th in the conference. Columbus has a save percentage as a team of .905 which has them 14th in the league, which means scoring chances could be there if they are opportunistic. They are shooting 7.8% ranking them 15th in the Eastern Conference. In net for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo who is having a marginal campaign by giving up 2.49 goals per contest and that has him 8th in the East and 14th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 1,876 mins he's played this season, he has surrendered 78 goals. He holds a save % of .913, which puts him at 11th in the East and 25th among goaltenders in the NHL.

Related: How to Turn Hockey Bets into Big Profits

The Columbus Blue Jackets played the Chicago Blackhawks in a matchup where the Blue Jackets went home in defeat by a mark of 3 - 2. In their game, Columbus wound up with a 47.8% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 44 and the other team having a Corsi of 48. Their Fenwick percentage was 55.4% by way of having a Fenwick of 36 and the Blackhawks having earned a 29 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Columbus had and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. They had a PDO at even strength of 101.9 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 26.9%. The Blue Jackets scored 2 goals of the 33 shots on goal they attempted. They had 3 power play attempts in this one but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. As for the opposition, the Blackhawks had 5 power play attempts and used that advantage to score 1 goal. Columbus gave way to 30 shots on goal and the Blackhawks ended up with a total of 8 penalty mins.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take Columbus (-120) and under the total goals

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