Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning - 4/22/21 NHL Picks and Prediction
Photo by Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Lightning (30-14-2) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (15-24-9)
Game Info: Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 7:00 pm (Amalie Arena)
Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning -270 / Columbus Blue Jackets +239 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning meet Thursday in NHL action at the Amalie Arena.
The Columbus Blue Jackets need a win here to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Columbus Blue Jackets are averaging 2.4 goals per game and are scoring on 13.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Oliver Bjorkstrand leads Columbus with 15 goals, Jack Roslovic has 20 assists and Cam Atkinson has 136 shots on goal. Defensively, the Columbus Blue Jackets are allowing 3.3 goals per game and are killing 78.9 percent of their opponents power plays. Joonas Korpisalo has given up 88 goals on 845 shots faced and Elvis Merzlikins has allowed 58 goals on 646 shots.
The Tampa Bay Lightning look for a win after splitting their last 12 games. The Tampa Bay Lightning are averaging 3.4 goals per game and are scoring on 25.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Brayden Point leads Tampa Bay with 20 goals, Victor Hedman has 34 assists and Yanni Gourde has 98 shots on goal. Defensively, the Tampa Bay Lightning are allowing 2.6 goals per game and are killing 82.4 percent of their opponents power plays. Andrei Vasilevskiy has given up 75 goals on 1,068 shots faced and Curtis McElhinney has given up 31 goals on 225 shots.
The Blue Jackets are 7-19 in their last 26 road games and 15-36 in their last 51 overall. The Lightning are 38-15 in their last 53 home games and 74-33 in their last 107 overall. The over is 7-0-1 in Blue Jackets last 8 overall. The under is 6-2 in Lightning last 8 home games. The Blue Jackets are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings. The favorite is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
The Columbus Blue Jackets look like a team that's ready for the season to end, as their effort isn't improving, the defense looks bad and the losses continue to pile up. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been hit or miss these last couple of weeks, but they're still one of the better and more talented teams in the league. While the Blue Jackets have won three of the six meetings this season against the Lightning, they're not in any form to back them in this spot on the road. Give me the Lightning and the PL for max betting value.
Randy’s Pick Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Mitch's Take...
