Columbus Blue Jackets vs Edmonton Oilers Predictions, NHL Expert Picks 3/7/2020

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Edmonton Oilers

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2020

Location: Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB

TV: CBC

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+151) Oilers (-167)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Mike Smith and the Edmonton Oilers (36-24-8, 2nd in the Pacific Division) host the Columbus Blue Jackets (32-21-15, 4th in the Metropolitan Division) at Rogers Place on Saturday, March 7, 2020. The Oilers open this game at -167 while the Blue Jackets are priced at +151. The total is set at 5.5. The Blue Jackets are covering 47.1% of the time, having gone 32-36 SU. The Oilers are covering 51.5% of the time, going 34-32 straight up.

The Columbus Blue Jackets step onto the ice holding a record of 32 victories and 21 losses, which puts them at 4th in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have converted a total of 177 goals which has them ranked at 14th in the East and 25th in the league. Their goal differential is -1, which puts them at 20th in the league. The Blue Jackets have a total of 79 points, which has them ranked at 12th in the league and 7th in the Eastern Conference. With regard to shots at the opposition, they have a total of 2,204 which has them ranked at 3rd in the East and 6th in the league. As a team, Columbus has earned a total of 1,331 hits which has them averaging 19.6 per game. They have a total of 928 blocks for this year. In goal for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is 25 years old and has totaled 2,067 minutes defending the goal this season. Korpisalo is conceding 2.58 goals per game which ranks him 10th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 16th in the NHL among goaltenders. For the year, he's surrendered 89 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .912 which ranks him 14th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 2 - 0 victory against the Dallas Stars the last time they stepped on the ice. The Blue Jackets left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in this victory. For this matchup, they finished 2 out of the 32 shots they attempted. Furthermore, they had 4 power play chances and were able to score 2 goals out of those attempts. Columbus ended up with a total of 8 penalty minutes for this outing. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets was 45 and the Corsi against was 46 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 49.5%. Their Fenwick was 39 while the Fenwick against sat at 36, which means they had a Fenwick percentage of 52.0%. They took 21 face-off wins and lost 19 attempts to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 38.4% and they had a PDO of 100.0 for this game. In discussing stats from the opponent, the Dallas Stars racked up 33 shots. They finished with 8 penalty minutes and they earned a total of 4 power play opportunities.

The Oilers will be looking to get a victory in this matchup and for the current year they sit with 36 victories and 24 defeats. When it comes to goal differential, they are currently ranked 5th in the West and 13th in the league with +8. They currently have a total of 215 goals for the season which has them sitting at 3rd in the Western Conference. Edmonton has a save % as a team of .904 which has them sitting 15th in the league, meaning there should be some opportunities to score. They have a shooting percentage of 10.7% putting them at 1st in the West. In goal for Edmonton is Mike Smith who is having a rough year by giving up 2.94 goals against average and that has him 23rd in the West and 45th in the NHL among goalies. In the 2,099 minutes he has been on the ice this season, he's given up 103 goals. He's earned a save % of .903, which places him at 26th in the West and 50th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Edmonton Oilers played the Chicago Blackhawks in a matchup where the Oilers went home in defeat by a score of 4 - 3. For this game, Edmonton wound up with a 46.1% Corsi rating. They got to that percentage by earning a Corsi of 41 and the team opposite of them having a Corsi of 48. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 44.8% by notching a Fenwick of 30 and the Blackhawks earning a 37 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Edmonton played and it tells us they had an average game overall. They had a PDO at even strength of 98.2 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 45.5%. The Oilers netted 3 goals of the 24 shots on goal they tried. They had 1 power play opportunity in this outing but were not able to net one. Concerning their opponent, the Blackhawks had 2 power play chances but didn't tally a goal. Edmonton allowed 31 shots on goal and the Blackhawks racked up 2 penalty mins.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus (+151)

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