Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, 1/4/2022 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-200) Blue Jackets (+164)

The Tampa Bay Lightning (21-8-5) are hitting the road to Nationwide Arena on Tuesday where they will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (15-14-1). The moneyline on this matchup has the Lightning at -200 and the Blue Jackets are priced at +164. The over/under has been set at 6.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will need a bounce back game after taking a 4-0 loss to the Rangers in the last game they played. Tampa Bay tallied 6 penalty minutes in this matchup. Additionally, they had 2 power play opportunities but didn't get a goal. The Lightning had an offensive game that was below their expectations in the defeat. For the matchup, they ended the night with no scores out of the 38 shots they launched.

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The Lightning have had 1,020 shots tried against them and hold a save percentage of .904. While at even strength, the Lightning have surrendered 77 goals while scoring 88 themselves. Tampa Bay Lightning opponents have earned 100 power play opportunities (7th in hockey) and have come away with 21 goals in those attempts. For the current season, they have racked up 47 points and their points percentage comes in at .691. Tampa Bay has taken 1,013 shots and holds a shot percentage of 10.6%. In reference to scoring goals, the Tampa Bay Lightning have earned 107 goals (8th in hockey) on the year and have surrendered 98. Tampa Bay has compiled 105 power play opportunities and they have added 19 goals during those advantages, giving them a rate of 18.10%.

The man in goal for this game is Andrei Vasilevskiy. For his professional hockey career, Vasilevskiy has 182 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .574. He has a save percentage of .920 during his 19,147 mins in the crease. Vasilevskiy has seen 9,915 shots against him and he has 9,123 saves. Opponents have been able to score 792 goals versus Vasilevskiy in his professional career and his goals against average is 2.48. He has earned an overall mark of 207-88-22 and he has gotten the start in 317 games. Vasilevskiy has been in goal for 327 games during his NHL career.

In their last outing, Columbus played the Hurricanes in a game where the Blue Jackets took a loss by a tally of 7-4. They had 3 opportunities on the power play in this outing but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. The Blue Jackets netted 4 goals of the 18 shots on goal they tried.

The Blue Jackets have 83 goals at even strength and 13 goals (30th in hockey) while having a power play advantage. Columbus has attempted 883 shots (28th in pro hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 10.87%, while allowing the other team 1,056 shots. On the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets have accounted for 96 goals, 31 points, in addition to a points percentage of .517. They have recorded 76 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play rate of 17.11%. They have earned a penalty kill rate of 79.01% on the other teams 81 chances on the power play, and their save percentage sits at 90.2%. They have granted a total of 104 goals to be scored by way of 87 goals at even strength and 17 goals while they had less men on the ice.

Across the ice you are likely to see Elvis Merzlikins in net. His opponents are averaging 2.71 goals per contest and he has relinquished 201 goals overall. Merzlikins' rate of quality starts comes in at 55.4% and he has 41 quality starting assignments in his pro career. He has been a starter 74 games and has played for a total of 4,456 mins. Merzlikins has accumulated a lifetime mark of 33-29-14 and has played in 82 games. He has tallied 2,199 saves out of the 2,400 shots tried, giving him a save % of .916.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-200)

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