Columbus Blue Jackets vs Calgary Flames Predictions, NHL Picks 3/4/2020

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Calgary Flames

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB

TV: RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+149) Flames (-165)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

David Rittich and the Calgary Flames (34-26-7, 3rd in the Pacific Division) host the Columbus Blue Jackets (32-21-14, 5th in the Metropolitan Division) at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. The Flames open this contest at -165 while the Blue Jackets are priced at +149. The O/U is set at 5.5. The Blue Jackets cover 47.8% of the time, having gone 32-35 SU. Calgary is covering 45.9% of the time, going 28-33 straight up.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head into this game holding a record of 32 victories and 21 defeats, ranking them 5th in the Metropolitan Division. So far this season, they have earned a total of 175 goals which has them at 14th in the Eastern Conference and 25th in the NHL. Their goal differential is 0, ranking them 20th in the NHL. The Blue Jackets have compiled a total of 78 pts, which has them at 11th in the NHL and 7th in the Eastern Conference. When discussing shots at the opposition, they have compiled a total of 2,182 which has them at 2nd in the East and 4th in the NHL. As a unit, Columbus has obtained a total of 1,319 hits which means they are averaging 19.7 per game. They have compiled a total of 906 blocks for this season. The man looking after the net for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is 25 years old and has played 2,002 minutes protecting the net for the season. Korpisalo is giving up an average of 2.58 goals per game which has him ranking 10th among Eastern Conference goalies and 15th in the NHL among goaltenders. For the season, he has surrendered 86 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .911 which has him ranking 15th among Eastern Conference goalies.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 5 - 3 win against the Vancouver Canucks in their last game. The Blue Jackets had a solid offensive performance and it showed in this victory. For this game, they converted 5 out of the 35 shots they put on net. Furthermore, they had 2 power play opportunities and were able to notch 2 goals out of those chances. Columbus earned a total of 11 penalty minutes in this matchup. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets was 45 and the Corsi against was 57 giving them a Corsi percentage of 44.1%. Their Fenwick sat at 35 and the Fenwick against was 43, which means they earned a Fenwick percentage of 44.9%. They won 28 face-off wins at even strength and lost 30 of all total face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 47.4% and they had a PDO of 103.9 in this game. Regarding their opponent, the Vancouver Canucks tallied 39 shots. They finished with a total of 9 penalty mins and they had 3 power play chances.

The Flames are the team on the other side of the ice and for the season they have 34 victories and 26 losses. When talking about goal differential, they currently sit 11th in the West and 23rd in the league with -10. They currently have a total of 195 goals for the year which has them sitting at 9th in the West. Calgary has a save percentage as a team of .906 which has them sitting 14th in the league, which means there should be some chances to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.2% which puts them at 10th in the West. In net for Calgary is David Rittich who is having a tough year by allowing 2.94 goals against average and that has him ranked 21st among West goalies and 42nd among goalies in the NHL. In the 2,732 minutes he's been on the ice this season, he has allowed 134 goals. His save % is .907, which has him sitting 19th among West goalies and 40th among goalies in the NHL.

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The Calgary Flames went up against the Florida Panthers in a game where the Flames got the win by a tally of 3 - 0. For this game, Calgary earned a 53.8% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by earning a Corsi of 50 while their opponent had a Corsi of 43. Their Fenwick percentage was 50.7% with a Fenwick of 37 and the Panthers ending the game with a 36 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Calgary had and it shows us they played like an average team. Their PDO at even strength was 107.7 and their percentage of oZS was 58.3%. The Flames netted 3 goals of the 28 shots on goal they tried. They had 1 power play chance in this game and were able to notch 1 on that opportunity. Regarding the opposition, the Panthers had 3 power play opportunities but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Calgary allowed 38 shots on goal and the Panthers earned 2 penalty minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Columbus (+149)

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