Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, 1/23/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: NHL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-154) Blue Jackets (+130)

Nationwide Arena is the site where Joonas Korpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-2) will play the Tampa Bay Lightning (3-0-0) on Saturday. The Blue Jackets open this matchup at +130 while the Lightning are coming in at -154. The O/U has been set at 5.5.

The Lightning were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 3 - 2 win against the Blue Jackets their last time out. The Lightning had an average offensive output in the win. For the outing, they converted 3 of the 37 shots they tried. Moreover, they had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to notch a goal in these power play chances. Tampa Bay had a total of 13 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Lightning was 58 and the Corsi against was 45 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 56.3%. Their Fenwick was 45 and the Fenwick against was 33, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 57.7%. They earned 22 face-off wins at even strength and lost 26 of all total face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 50.0% and they had a PDO at even strength of 104.5 in this game. When it comes to their opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a total of 25 shots. They had a total of 7 penalty mins and they earned a total of 4 power play opportunities.

In goal for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy from London, Ontario. He is 26 years old and has played a total of 182 mins defending the net this year. Vasilevskiy is conceding 1.65 GAA which has him placed 3rd among East goalies and 4th in the NHL. For the season, he has allowed 5 goals. He has a save % of .941 which has him placed 3rd among East goalies. During the year thus far, they have earned a total of 13 goals which has them ranked at 5th in the East and 9th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +8, which is good for 3rd in the NHL. The Lightning currently have a total of 6 pts, which has them ranked at 5th in the NHL and 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Regarding shots on goal, they currently have a total of 107 which has them ranked at 11th in the East and 23rd in the NHL. As a team, Tampa Bay currently has a total of 57 hits which has them averaging 19 per game. They currently have a total of 29 blocks for the year.

In their loss to Tampa, Columbus had a 43.7% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 45 and they gave up a Corsi of 58. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 42.3% by notching a Fenwick of 33 and the Lightning ending the game with a 45 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Columbus played and it could be said that this team has had better games. Their PDO at even strength was 95.5 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 50.0%. The Blue Jackets converted 2 goals out of the 25 shots on goal they took. They had 4 power play attempts in this one and scored 1 out of those tries. As for their opponent, the Lightning had 1 power play attempt but didn't tally a goal. Columbus gave way to 37 shots on goal and the Lightning earned 13 penalty mins.

In goal for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo who is having a marginal year by allowing 2.34 goals per game and that has him 7th in the East and 14th among goalies in the NHL. In the 180 mins he's been on the ice, he has given up 7 goals. He holds a save % of .935, which has him sitting 4th in the East and 6th among goalies in the NHL. In discussing goal differential, they are currently sitting 16th in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the NHL with -6. They have compiled a total of 10 goals for the season which puts them at 10th in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has a team save % of .905 which has them ranked 17th in the NHL, meaning there should be some chances to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 6.6% which is good for 15th in the East.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-154)

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