Ottawa Senators vs Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions, NHL Picks 2/24/2020

Game: Ottawa Senators vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Monday, February 24, 2020

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: TSN5/RDS

Odds/Point Spread: Senators (-115) Blue Jackets (-105)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Nationwide Arena is the venue where Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-14, 6th in the Metropolitan Division) will take on the Ottawa Senators (21-30-11, 7th in the Atlantic Division) on Monday. The Blue Jackets open this contest at -105 while the Senators are coming in at -115. The total has been set at 6. The Senators are covering 33.9% of the time, having gone 21-41 SU. Columbus covers 47.6% of the time, going 30-33 straight up.

The Ottawa Senators head into this game holding a record of 21 victories and 30 losses, putting them at 7th in the Atlantic Division. So far this year, they have converted a total of 164 goals which is 13th in the conference and 24th in the NHL. Their goal differential is -43, putting them at 30th in the NHL. The Senators have compiled a total of 53 points, which is 29th in the NHL and 15th in the Eastern Conference. With reference to shots toward the net, they have compiled a total of 1,881 which is 13th in the Eastern Conference and 23rd in the NHL. As a unit, Ottawa currently has a total of 1,662 hits which means they have an average of 26.8 per game. They have compiled a total of 799 blocks for the year. In net for Ottawa is Marcus Hogberg from Orebro, Sweden. He is 25 years old and has racked up 1,095 minutes defending the net this season. Hogberg is conceding an average of 3.07 GAA which puts him at 24th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 52nd among goalies in the NHL. During this year, he's surrendered 56 goals. He holds a save % of .908 which puts him at 21st among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Ottawa Senators will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3 - 0 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens in their previous game. The Senators could have played much better offensively in the defeat. While out there on the ice, they converted 0 out of the 30 shots they tried. In addition, they had 2 power play attempts but weren't able to net one. Ottawa racked up 25 penalty minutes in their game. The Corsi for the Senators was 48 and the Corsi against was 62 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 43.6%. Their Fenwick was 35 and the Fenwick against sat at 48, which tells us they had a rate of 42.2%. They earned 28 face-off wins and were beaten on 25 attempts to control the puck. Their offensive zone starts were rated at 60.7% and they had a PDO of 91.2 for this game. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Montreal Canadiens put up 37 shots. They had 25 minutes in the box and they earned a total of 2 power play chances.

The Blue Jackets will be on the other side of the ice and for the campaign they sit with 30 wins and 19 defeats. When talking about goal differential, they sit 11th in the Eastern Conference and 18th in the league with +3. They have earned a total of 162 goals for the year which has them ranked at 15th in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has a save % as a team of .915 which has them sitting 4th in the league, meaning scoring opportunities may be scarce. They have a team shooting percentage of 7.9% which is good for 15th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins who is having an average year by surrendering 2.37 goals per contest and that places him 5th in the East and 9th among goalies in the NHL. In the 1,724 mins he has played, he's surrendered 68 goals. He holds a save % of .922, which has him sitting 5th in the East and 9th among goalies in the NHL.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets played the Nashville Predators in a game where the Blue Jackets went home in defeat by a tally of 4 - 3. For this game, Columbus earned a 47.3% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by having a Corsi of 62 and the team opposite of them having a Corsi of 69. Their Fenwick rate came in at 48.4% by notching a Fenwick of 46 and the Predators having a 49 Fenwick. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Columbus played and it shows us they played like an average team. They had a PDO at even strength of 96.3 and they earned an oZS percentage of 49.4%. The Blue Jackets scored 3 goals of the 43 shots on goal they took. They had 2 power play opportunities in this outing and were able to notch 1 out of those opportunities. Concerning their opponent, the Predators had 1 power play chance but were not able to score a goal. Columbus gave way to 36 shots on goal and the Predators had a total of 4 penalty minutes.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Ottawa (-115)

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