Nationwide Arena is the site for an East-West showdown as the Columbus Blue Jackets take on the visiting St. Louis Blues. It’s the last time that the two clubs will meet in the regular season. Fox Sports Ohio will air the game, and the opening face-off takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 24.
St. Louis Blues vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
Columbus (-150) is currently favored over St. Louis (+130). The Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals and initially opened at -110 for the over and -110 for the under. That line has since shifted however, and it presently sits at -130 money on the under, +110 on the over.
Earning moneyline bettors 2.9 units, Columbus is 42-33 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, the second-best in the Metropolitan Division so far this season, is a slide from what the team recorded during last year’s regular season (50-32). Of the team’s 75 games this season, 35 have gone under the total, while 35 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 25-13 SU at home this season.
The Blue Jackets have converted on just 15.4 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 30th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 77.3 percent of all penalties.
The Blue Jackets, as a collective unit, have been whistled for penalties just 3.0 times per game overall this season, 3.4 per game over their past five matchups total, and 2.6 per game over their last five at home. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays for just 6.2 minutes per game over their last 10 matchups, overall.
With a .922 save percentage and 28.1 saves per game, Sergei Bobrovsky (34 wins, 26 losses, and five OT losses) has been the primary option in goal for the Jackets this year. If the Jackets, however, decide to give him a rest, head coach John Tortorella may turn to Joonas Korpisalo (8-8-8 record, .902 save percentage, 3.23 goals against average).
The Jackets will continue to look for offensive production from Artemi Panarin and Seth Jones. Panarin (69 points) has tallied 25 goals and 44 assists and has recorded two or more points 14 times this year. Jones has 15 goals and 35 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 36 contests.
St. Louis is 41-33 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 74 regular season matches, 43 of its games have gone under the total, while 29 have gone over and just one has pushed. As the away team, the Blues are 18-18 SU.
The Blues have converted on just 15.6 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 17th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
St. Louis’ skaters have been called for penalties only 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 2.2 per game over their past five outings. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 6.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen (24.8 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for St. Louis. Allen has 25 wins, 27 losses, and two OT losses to his credit, while registering a .906 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Blues will be Brayden Schenn (25 goals, 37 assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (28 goals, 31 assists).
St. Louis Blues at Columbus Blue Jackets Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
Columbus is 6-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 3-0 in shootouts.
The over has hit in three of Columbus’ last five outings.
Columbus has scored 2.9 goals per game overall this year, but has upped it to 4.2 per match up over its 10-game winning streak.
Over Columbus’ last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 6-0 in those games).
St. Louis skaters have given out the 10th-most hits in the league (22.9 per game).
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