Avalanche vs Blue Jackets Predictions, Picks, Betting Tips 2/8/2020

Game: Colorado Avalanche vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: Alt2

Odds/Point Spread: Avalanche (+100) Blue Jackets (-110)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Nationwide Arena is the site where Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets (29-16-9, 4th in the Metropolitan Division) will play the Colorado Avalanche (30-16-6, 2nd in the Central Division) on Saturday. The line on this matchup has the Avalanche coming in at +100 and the Blue Jackets are at -110. The over/under opens at 6. The Avalanche cover 57.7% of the time, having gone 30-22 SU. The Blue Jackets cover 53.7% of the time, going 29-25 straight up.

The Colorado Avalanche head into this game holding a record of 30 victories and 16 defeats, which puts them at 2nd in the Central Division. So far this season, they have converted a total of 192 goals which ranks them 1st in the West and 4th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +42, which puts them at 3rd in the NHL. The Avalanche currently have a total of 66 pts, which ranks them 8th in the NHL and 2nd in the West. When it comes to shots at the opposing goalie, they currently have a total of 1,718 which ranks them 6th in the Western Conference and 12th in the NHL. As a unit, Colorado has a total of 892 hits which has them averaging 17.2 per game. They currently have a total of 617 blocks for the year. The man in goal for Colorado is Philipp Grubauer from Rosenheim, Germany. He is 28 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,837 minutes minding the goal for the season. Grubauer is conceding 2.78 goals per contest which has him ranked 13th among West goalies and 28th in the NHL among goaltenders. For the season, he's allowed 85 goals. He holds a save percentage of .910 which has him ranked 18th among West goalies.

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The Colorado Avalanche were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 4 - 1 win against the Ottawa Senators the last time they stepped on the ice. The Avalanche had a good offensive outing and it showed in the win. In this game, they converted 4 of the 34 shots they attempted. Moreover, they had 1 power play attempt and were able to net 1 goal on that chance. Colorado racked up 4 penalty minutes while out there on the ice. The Corsi for the Avalanche sat at 46 and the Corsi against was 52 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 46.9%. Their Fenwick was 37 while the Fenwick against was 39, which means they had a Fenwick percentage of 48.7%. They won 33 face-off wins and were beaten on 25 of all total face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 57.9% and they had a PDO of 105.8 for this game. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Ottawa Senators racked up a total of 26 shots. They had a total of 2 penalty mins and they earned a total of 2 power play opportunities.

The Blue Jackets will be on the other side of the ice and for the campaign they have 29 victories and 16 defeats. With reference to goal differential, they are ranked 9th in the Eastern Conference and 11th in the league with +11. They have a total of 144 goals for the season which ranks them 14th in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has a team save % of .919 which has them sitting 3rd in the league, meaning scoring opportunities may be scarce. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.4% which puts them at 15th in the conference. In net for Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins who is having an ok year by surrendering 2.30 goals per game and that places him 4th among East goalies and 6th in the NHL among goaltenders. In the 1,251 mins he's played this season, he has given up 48 goals. His save % is .929, which places him at 3rd among East goalies and 3rd in the NHL among goaltenders.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets played the Florida Panthers in a matchup where the Blue Jackets notched a victory by a mark of 1 - 0. While out there on the ice, Columbus earned a 54.0% Corsi rating. They got there by having a Corsi of 61 and the team opposite of them having a Corsi of 52. They had a Fenwick percentage of 55.2% by notching a Fenwick of 48 and the Panthers having earned a 39 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi statistics are telling of the type of game that Columbus played and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. Their PDO was 102.6 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 61.1%. The Blue Jackets notched 1 goal out of the 45 shots on goal they took. They had 1 power play chance in this one but weren't able to score a goal. Regarding the opposition, the Panthers had 2 power play chances but were not able to notch a goal. Columbus gave up 32 shots on goal and the Panthers racked up a total of 2 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Columbus (-110)

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