Columbus Blue Jackets vs Seattle Kraken Prediction, 12/11/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Seattle Kraken

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2021

Location: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA

TV: Root Sports Northwest

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+118) Kraken (-143)

Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets (13-11-1) head to Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday where they'll take on the Seattle Kraken (9-15-2). The odds on this matchup have the Blue Jackets coming in at +118 and the Kraken are at -143. The total opens at 6.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will need a bounce back game after taking a 2-1 defeat to the Ducks in their last outing. Columbus earned 4 minutes in the box in this game. The Blue Jackets had an offensive game that was below their expectations in this defeat. Moreover, they had 2 chances on the power play but didn't convert them into a score. In the game, they converted 1 out of the 34 shots they attempted.

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The Blue Jackets have had 857 shots tried against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .905. When playing at even strength, the Blue Jackets have allowed the opponent to score 69 goals while having 66 themselves. Columbus Blue Jackets opponents have totaled 67 power play opportunities (26th in hockey) and have tallied 12 goals in those attempts. For the year, they have earned 27 points and their points percentage is sitting at .540. Columbus has attempted 746 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 10.6%. In reference to scoring goals, the Columbus Blue Jackets have accumulated 79 goals (13th in the league) so far this season and have surrendered 81. Columbus has tallied 64 power play chances and they have tallied 13 goals out of those attempts, earning them a rate of 20.31%.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Elvis Merzlikins. In his professional hockey career, Merzlikins has 40 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .571. His save percentage is .919 in his 4,212 minutes played. Merzlikins has seen 2,251 shots against him and has garnered 2,069 saves. Opponents have been able to score 182 goals versus Merzlikins in his NHL career and his goals against average is 2.59. He has earned a win-loss mark of 31-26-14 and he has gotten the start in 70 games. Merzlikins has taken the ice for 77 games throughout his hockey career.

Their last time out, Seattle opposed the Jets in an outing where the Kraken ended up taking the loss by a final score of 3-0. The Kraken netted 0 goals out of the 25 shots on goal they tried. They had 5 attempts on the power play in this one but didn't put one in the back of the net.

During this campaign, the Seattle Kraken have notched a total of 73 goals, 20 points, in addition to a points percentage of .385. They have granted a total of 92 goals to be scored by of a combination of 81 goals at even strength and 11 goals while they were shorthanded. The Kraken have accumulated 61 goals at even strength and 12 goals (24th in the league) while having more men on the ice. They have recorded 74 power play chances and they have a power play percentage of 16.22%. Seattle has taken 739 shots (25th in professional hockey) and has a shot percentage of 9.88%, while allowing the other team 733 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 81.03% on their opponents 58 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage is 87.4%.

On the other side of the ice you will find Philipp Grubauer patrolling the crease. Opponents are averaging 2.41 goals per game and he has relinquished 517 goals in total. Grubauer's quality start rate is 56.5% and he has 117 quality starts in his hockey career. He has started in 207 games and has played for a total of 12,858 mins. Grubauer is the owner of a career mark of 116-72-23 and has been in net for 235 contests. He has racked up 5,759 saves out of the 6,276 shots taken, giving him a percentage of .918.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus (+118)

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