Devils vs Blue Jackets Predictions, Picks, Tips 1/18/2020

Game: New Jersey Devils vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2020

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: MSG+

Odds/Point Spread: Devils (+169) Blue Jackets (-188)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Louis Domingue and the New Jersey Devils (17-22-7, 8th in the Metropolitan Division) go to Nationwide Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the Columbus Blue Jackets (23-16-8, 6th in the Metropolitan Division). The Blue Jackets open this contest at -188 while the Devils are coming in at +169. The over/under opens at 5.5. The Devils are covering 33.3% of the time, having gone 15-30 SU. Columbus is covering 50.0% of the time, going 24-24 straight up.

The New Jersey Devils head into this game holding a record of 17 victories and 22 defeats, putting them at 8th in the Metropolitan Division. So far this year, they have racked up a total of 122 goals which has them sitting at 15th in the East and 27th in the NHL. Their goal differential is -37, putting them at 30th in the NHL. The Devils have compiled a total of 41 points, which has them sitting at 27th in the NHL and 14th in the conference. With reference to shots toward the net, they have compiled a total of 1,430 which has them sitting at 11th in the East and 21st in the NHL. As a team, New Jersey has obtained a total of 858 hits which has them averaging 18.7 per game. They have compiled a total of 563 blocks for this year. The man looking after the goal for New Jersey is Louis Domingue from St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. He is 27 years old and has racked up 422 mins in goal for the season. Domingue is giving up an average of 3.55 GAA which has him ranked 31st among Eastern Conference goalies and 64th in the NHL among goalies. Over the course of this season, he has surrendered 25 goals. He's earned a save % of .884 which has him ranked 32nd among Eastern Conference goalies.

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The New Jersey Devils will be looking to get a win in their next outing after their 7 - 4 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs the last time they stepped on the ice. The Devils had a solid offensive outing in the defeat. In this game, they netted 4 of the 29 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 4 power play opportunities and scored 1 goal out of those tries. New Jersey racked up 10 penalty mins in this matchup. The Corsi for the Devils was 50 and the Corsi against was 40 which earned them a Corsi percentage of 55.6%. Their Fenwick was 37 while the Fenwick against was 33, which means they earned a Fenwick percentage of 52.9%. They took 17 face-off wins and were beaten on 30 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts came in at 71.8% and they had a PDO of 92.2 for this game. With regard to the opposition's stats, the Toronto Maple Leafs earned 34 shots. Their total at the end of the game was 10 penalty mins and they earned a total of 4 power play chances.

The Blue Jackets will be the team across the ice and for the current year they sit with 23 victories and 16 losses. When discussing goal differential, they are ranked 11th in the East and 18th in the league with +2. They currently have a total of 124 goals for the season which has them sitting at 13th in the East. Columbus has a save % as a team of .913 which has them sitting 6th in the league, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.2% putting them at 15th in the conference. In net for Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins who is having a marginal season by giving up 2.53 goals against average and that has him 8th in the Eastern Conference and 14th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 950 mins he has played this year, he's surrendered 40 goals. His save % is .921, which puts him at 6th in the Eastern Conference and 14th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets faced the Boston Bruins in a matchup where the Blue Jackets got the victory by a tally of 3 - 0. In this game, Columbus went home with a 39.8% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 35 while the opposition earned a Corsi of 53. Their Fenwick rate was 42.4% by notching a Fenwick of 28 and the Bruins earning a 38 Fenwick. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Columbus had and you could say that they didn't play great, but weren't awful either. They had a PDO at even strength of 108.7 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 52.2%. The Blue Jackets scored 3 goals of the 27 shots on goal they attempted. They had 2 power play chances in this outing and were able to convert 1 out of those opportunities. Regarding the opposition, the Bruins had 4 power play chances but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Columbus gave up 34 shots on goal and the Bruins racked up 6 minutes in the box.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New Jersey (+169)

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