Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, 11/21/2024 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024

Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: NBC4 WCMH-TV

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-160) Blue Jackets (+132)

The Tampa Bay Lightning (10-6-1) are en route to Nationwide Arena on Thursday where they will attempt to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets (7-9-2). The moneyline on this game has Tampa Bay at -160 while Columbus is sitting at +132. The betting total comes in at 6.5.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 3-2 victory against the Penguins in their previous contest . Tampa Bay accrued 4 minutes in the box for this matchup. The Lightning had a middle of the road showing in this victory. Moreover, they had 3 attempts on the power play but weren't able to score a goal. For the outing, they scored on 3 of the 35 shots they put on net.

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When discussing scoring goals, the Tampa Bay Lightning have accumulated 60 goals (11th in the NHL) so far this year and have given up 47. For the season, they have tallied 21 points and their points percentage sits at .618. Tampa Bay steps onto the ice with 54 power play opportunities and they have notched 10 goals during those chances, garnering them a percentage of 18.52%. At even strength, the Lightning have given up 35 goals while scoring 50 as an offensive unit. Tampa Bay has tried 466 shots and holds a shot percentage of 12.9%. The Lightning have had 469 shots attempted against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .900. Tampa Bay Lightning opponents have recorded 55 power play opportunities (18th in the NHL) and have tallied 12 goals in those chances.

Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Andrei Vasilevskiy. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Vasilevskiy has tallied 274 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .568. He has a save percentage of .917 during his 28,084 minutes guarding the cage. Vasilevskiy has seen 14,773 shot attempts taken against him and has accrued 13,543 total saves. The opposition has scored 1,230 goals against Vasilevskiy in his NHL career and his goals against average per contest is 2.63. He has an overall mark of 302-148-31 and he started in 482 games. Vasilevskiy has participated in 492 games throughout his professional hockey career.

In their last outing, Columbus faced off against the Bruins in a matchup where the Blue Jackets got the win by a score of 5-1. The Blue Jackets netted 5 goals of the 29 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 2 power play attempts in this contest but were not able to net one.

The Blue Jackets have accumulated 50 goals at even strength and 8 goals (29th in the league) while having more men on the ice. Columbus has put up 567 shots (11th in hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 10.23%, while allowing the other team 516 shots. So far this year, the Columbus Blue Jackets have accounted for 58 goals, 16 points, in addition to a points percentage of .444. They have allowed 62 goals to be scored by way of 51 goals at even strength and 11 goals while they were shorthanded. They have a total of 49 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 16.33%. They have a penalty kill percentage of 80.70% on the other teams 57 power play chances, and their save percentage is currently 88.0%.

On the other side of the ice you will find Elvis Merzlikins protecting the net. He has recorded 5,517 stops out of 6,102 shots attempted against him, which gives him a save % of .904. Merzlikins is sitting with a career mark of 72-84-31 and has participated in 201 games. He has made the start in 187 games and has accumulated 10,475 mins. Merzlikins' quality start rate is 48.1% and he has qualified for 90 quality starts in his hockey career. Teams are averaging 3.35 goals per contest and he has surrendered 585 goals altogether.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus (+132)

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