Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, 4/1/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021

Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

TV: BSSUN

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+200) Lightning (-250)

Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning (24-9-2) host the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-15-8) at Amalie Arena on Thursday. The Blue Jackets open this matchup at +200 while the Lightning are coming in at -250. The O/U is set at 5.5.

The Blue Jackets were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 3-1 win over the Lightning in their previous outing. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets sat at 35 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 58 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 37.6%. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 35.0% and they had a PDO at even strength of 112.2 for this one. Columbus garnered 2 penalty minutes in this matchup. The Blue Jackets played like an average offensive team in this victory. Their Fenwick came in at 29 and the Fenwick against finished at 45, meaning they had a Fenwick rate of 39.2%. They totaled 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 28 opportunities to take control of the puck. Furthermore, they had 1 power play opportunity but weren't able to score a goal. In the matchup, they were able to notch a goal on 3 of the 21 shots they put on goal.

In terms of their scoring capabilities, the Columbus Blue Jackets have accounted for 92 goals (21st in hockey) on the season and have surrendered 115. For the season, they have tallied 36 points and their points percentage is sitting at .486. Columbus has tallied 87 power play chances and they have added 13 goals out of those tries, giving them a rate of 14.94%. At even strength, the Blue Jackets have conceded 95 goals while having 79 themselves. Columbus has attempted 1,043 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 8.8%. The Blue Jackets have had 1,163 shots tried against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .901. Columbus Blue Jackets opponents have tallied 84 power play tries (31st in professional hockey) and have scored 20 goals in those attempts.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Joonas Korpisalo. Over the course of his career, Korpisalo is sitting with 69 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .493. He has a save percentage of .906 in his 8,540 mins on the ice. Korpisalo has seen 4,318 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 3,914 total saves. Opponents have been able to score 404 goals against Korpisalo in his professional hockey career and his goals against rate is 2.84. He has earned a record of 68-53-20 and was named the starter in 140 games. Korpisalo has played in 152 contests during his NHL career.

In their loss to Columbus, Tampa Bay went home with a 62.4% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Tampa Bay played and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. Their Fenwick percentage was 60.8% by amassing a Fenwick of 45 and the Blue Jackets having notched a 29 Fenwick. Their PDO was 88 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 65.0%. The Lightning recorded 1 goal out of the 38 shots on goal they pursued. They had 1 power play opportunity in this one but weren't able to put one in the back of the net.

The Lightning are sitting with 92 goals at even strength and 31 goals (2nd in the NHL) while on the power play. Tampa Bay has put up 1,062 shots (13th in professional hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 11.58%, while allowing their opponents 981 shots. On the year, the Tampa Bay Lightning have 123 goals, 50 points, and a points percentage of .714. They have a total of 113 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play percentage of 27.43%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 81.82% on their oppositions 121 power play tries, and their save percentage comes in at 91.4%. They have granted a total of 84 goals to be scored by way of 62 goals at even strength and 22 goals while they were shorthanded.

On the other side of the ice you are likely to see Andrei Vasilevskiy in net. He has racked up 8,009 saves out of the 8,706 shots attempted, which gives him a save percentage of .920. Vasilevskiy is the owner of a lifetime record of 180-78-19 and has been in net for 287 contests. He has made the start in 277 games and has played 16,733 minutes. Vasilevskiy's rate of quality starts sits at 56.3% and he has qualified for 156 quality starting assignments in his NHL career. The opposition is averaging 2.50 goals per contest and he has relinquished 697 goals altogether.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-250) and under 5.5 goals

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