Washington Capitals vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, 11/12/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Washington Capitals vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Friday, November 12, 2021

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

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

Elvis Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets play the Washington Capitals at Nationwide Arena on Friday. The Blue Jackets open this contest at +130 while the Capitals are coming in at -154. The total is set at 6.5.

The Capitals will head into their next game feeling good after earning a 5-3 victory against the Sabres in their previous game. The offensive zone starts for them were at 49.8% and their PDO was 104.3 in this game. They had a tally of 26 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 23 opportunities to win the puck. Their Fenwick came in at 33 and the Fenwick against was 35, giving them a Fenwick rate of 48.5%. The Corsi for the Capitals sat at 37 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 49 which had their Corsi percentage coming in at 43.0%. Washington amassed 6 penalty minutes in this matchup. Furthermore, they had 3 power play opportunities and scored 1 goal. The Capitals had a great offensive game plan going into this one and it showed in the win. For the matchup, they earned a goal on 5 out of the 30 shots they attempted.

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Washington Capitals opponents have amassed 33 power play opportunities (23rd in the NHL) and have come away with 7 goals in those attempts. The Capitals have had 325 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .902. Washington has attempted 380 shots and holds a shot percentage of 11.1%. While at even strength, the Capitals have conceded 25 goals while notching 34 on offense. Washington comes into the game with 43 power play opportunities and they have added 8 goals out of those tries, giving them a rate of 18.60%. For the year, they have scored 16 points and their points percentage comes in at .667. When talking about their goal scoring prowess, the Washington Capitals have racked up 42 goals (5th in the NHL) on the year and have allowed 32.

The man protecting the net in this game is Ilya Samsonov. Samsonov has been in net for 50 contests over the course of his pro hockey career. He has amassed a mark of 32-10-4 and was named the starter in 43 games. The opposition has been able to score 121 goals against Samsonov in his pro hockey career and his goals against average is 2.64. Samsonov has seen 1,300 shots taken against him and he has 1,179 saves. His save percentage currently sits at .907 during his 2,752 minutes guarding the cage. For his career, Samsonov has accrued 21 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .488.

In their last outing, Columbus opposed the Avalanche in a matchup where the Blue Jackets ended up with the victory by a score of 4-2. Their PDO at even strength was 107 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 36.4%. They had 4 chances on the power play in this outing but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. Their Fenwick rate came in at 45.8% by accumulating a Fenwick of 33 and the Avalanche earning a 39 Fenwick. The Blue Jackets netted 4 goals out of the 42 shots on goal they attempted. Columbus went home with a 47.2% Corsi rate. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Columbus played and they put on a good performance in this one.

The Blue Jackets have accumulated 25 goals at even strength and 6 goals (24th in pro hockey) while having more men on the ice. Columbus has taken 296 shots (32nd in pro hockey) and has earned a shot percentage of 10.47%, while allowing their opponents 348 shots. So far this year, the Columbus Blue Jackets have tallied 31 goals, 14 points, as well as a points percentage of .700. They have earned 28 opportunities on the power play and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 21.43%. They have a penalty kill percentage of 82.35% on their oppositions 34 power play tries, and their save percentage comes in at 92.0%. They have allowed 28 goals to be scored by way of 22 goals at even strength and 6 goals while they were shorthanded.

Across the ice you are likely to see Elvis Merzlikins defending the net. His opposition is averaging 2.48 goals per game and he has surrendered 152 goals overall. Merzlikins' quality start rate is 60.0% and he has qualified for 36 quality starts in his career. He has started in 60 games and has played 3,676 mins. Merzlikins has accrued a career mark of 26-22-13 and has played in 67 games. He has a tally of 1,791 saves out of the 1,943 shots attempted, giving him a percentage of .922.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington (-154)

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