Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs Predictions, NHL Picks, Betting Tips 8/9/2020

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Date: Sunday, August 9, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+143) Maple Leafs (-179)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Scotiabank Arena is the venue where Frederik Andersen and the Toronto Maple Leafs (36-25-9, 3rd in the Atlantic Division) will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (33-22-15, 5th in the Metropolitan Division) on Sunday in Game 5 of their series. The series is tied 2-2. The Maple Leafs open this matchup at -179 while the Blue Jackets are coming in at +143. The over/under is set at 5.5. The Blue Jackets cover 47.1% of the time, having gone 33-37 SU. The Maple Leafs cover 50.7% of the time, going 35-34 straight up.

The Columbus Blue Jackets step onto the ice holding a record of 33 victories and 22 defeats, which puts them at 5th in the Metropolitan Division. Thus far in the season, they have converted a total of 180 goals which has them ranked at 15th in the East and 27th in the NHL. Their goal differential is -3, which puts them at 21st in the NHL. The Blue Jackets currently have a total of 81 points, which has them ranked at 12th in the NHL and 7th in the conference. Regarding shots at the opposition, they currently have a total of 2,272 which has them ranked at 3rd in the conference and 6th in the NHL. As a unit, Columbus has earned a total of 1,372 hits which has them averaging 19.6 per game. They currently have a total of 950 blocks for the season. In goal for Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins from Riga, Latvia. He is 25 years old and has totaled 1,815 mins minding the goal for the year. Merzlikins is surrendering an average of 2.35 GAA which puts him at 3rd in the Eastern Conference and 6th among goalies in the NHL. Over the course of this season, he has allowed 71 goals. He holds a save % of .923 which puts him at 4th in the Eastern Conference.

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The Blue Jackets will be looking to get a win in their next outing after their 4 - 3 defeat against the Maple Leafs in Game 4. The Blue Jackets offense showed they have some room for improvement in this defeat. While out there on the ice, they scored on 3 out of the 39 shots they attempted. Moreover, they had 3 power play attempts but didn't net one. Columbus earned 15 penalty mins in this matchup. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets was 63 and the Corsi against was 73 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 46.3%. Their Fenwick sat at 49 while the Fenwick against sat at 54, telling us they have a Fenwick percentage of 47.6%. They won 30 face-off wins and were beaten on 23 of all total face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 54.1% and they had a PDO of 102.9 for this one. When it comes to their opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs earned 53 shots. They had a total of 13 penalty mins and they earned 4 power play chances.

The Maple Leafs are the team on the other side of the ice and for the year they have 36 victories and 25 losses. In the matter of goal differential, they sit 7th in the Eastern Conference and 9th in the league with +15. They have compiled a total of 237 goals for this season which has them at 2nd in the East. Toronto has a save % as a team of .901 which has them ranked 18th in the league, which means there should be some opportunities to score. They are shooting 10.3% which is good for 5th in the East. In net for Toronto is Frederik Andersen who is having a marginal campaign by surrendering 2.85 goals per contest and that has him 18th among East goalies and 37th in the NHL among goalies. In the 3,007 mins he's played this season, he's given up 143 goals. His save percentage is .909, which has him sitting 17th among East goalies and 36th in the NHL among goalies.

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In Game 4 Toronto earned a 53.7% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by earning a Corsi of 73 while they conceded a Corsi of 63. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 52.4% by notching a Fenwick of 54 and the Blue Jackets ending the game with a 49 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Toronto played and it was a good performance overall. They had a PDO at even strength of 97.1 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 45.9%. The Maple Leafs scored 4 goals out of the 53 shots on goal they tried. They had 4 power play chances in this outing and netted 1 out of those opportunities. Concerning their opponent, the Blue Jackets had 3 power play attempts but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Toronto gave way to 39 shots on goal and the Blue Jackets earned a total of 15 penalty mins.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus (+143)

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