Columbus Blue Jackets vs New York Rangers Prediction, 2/28/2024 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs New York Rangers

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: MSG+

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (+190) Rangers (-240)

The Columbus Blue Jackets (19-28-10) are traveling to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday where they will go up against the New York Rangers (39-17-3). The moneyline on this game has the Blue Jackets at +190 while the Rangers are opening at -240. The total has been set at 7.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had a good night with a 4-2 victory over the Rangers in their previous outing. Columbus tallied 9 minutes in the box in this matchup. They also had 3 power play tries and notched 1 goal. The Blue Jackets had a great offensive game plan going into this one and it showed in this victory. In the game, they scored on 4 of the 41 shots they attempted.

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With regard to their scoring capabilities, the Columbus Blue Jackets have notched 168 goals (23rd in pro hockey) for the year and have given up 209. For the current campaign, they have 48 points and their points percentage is .421. Columbus comes into the game with 164 power play chances and they have scored 24 goals out of those tries, garnering them a rate of 14.63%. When at even strength, the Blue Jackets have allowed the opponent to score 170 goals while earning 144 on offense. Columbus has attempted 1,718 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 9.8%. The Blue Jackets so far have had 1,908 shots taken against them and hold a save percentage of .890. Columbus Blue Jackets opponents have totaled 167 power play opportunities (26th in pro hockey) and have racked up 39 goals in those chances.

The player between the pipes for this game is Elvis Merzlikins. The opposition has notched 528 goals versus Merzlikins in his NHL career and his goals against average per game is 3.16. Merzlikins has participated in 183 contests over the course of his professional hockey career. He has a save percentage of .905 for his 10,017 minutes in the crease. He has accumulated a record of 66-74-29 and he was named the starter in 169 games. During his career on the ice, Merzlikins has compiled 81 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .479. Merzlikins has had 5,577 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 5,049 total saves.

When they were on the ice last, New York opposed the Blue Jackets in an outing where the Rangers were on the wrong end of the score by a mark of 4-2. The Rangers earned 2 goals of the 40 shots on goal they took. They had 2 opportunities on the power play in this outing but didn't score a goal.

The Rangers have racked up 150 goals at even strength and 46 goals (7th in professional hockey) while on the power play. New York has tried 1,830 shots (12th in hockey) and has a shot percentage of 10.71%, while allowing the other team 1,743 shots. Over the course of the season, the New York Rangers have earned a total of 196 goals, 81 points, in addition to a points percentage of .686. They have allowed 161 goals to be scored by of a combination of 132 goals at even strength and 29 goals while they had less men on the ice. They have a total of 185 opportunities on the power play and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 24.86%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 82.94% on their oppositions 170 power play opportunities, and their save percentage currently comes in at 90.8%.

On the other side of the ice you are going to see Igor Shesterkin defending the goal. Teams are averaging 2.44 goals/game and he has surrendered 463 goals overall. Shesterkin's rate of quality starts is 65.4% and he has made 125 quality starting assignments in his hockey career. He has made the start in 191 games and has played 11,397 minutes. Shesterkin is the owner of a career record of 124-54-16 and has played in 196 games. He has recorded 5,401 stops out of the 5,864 shots taken against him, giving him a save percentage of .921.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Columbus (+190)

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