On Monday night, the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets are on the ice at Nationwide Arena. There isn’t any NBA on the schedule, so the NHL takes the centerstage for professional sports.
The NCAA National Championship is tonight; hence there is no basketball action in the NBA. With four NHL games, puck heads have something to look forward to tonight.
The marquee matchup is the Maple Leafs and Lightning at Amalie Arena. However, I’m looking at the Bruins and Blue Jackets to open the night. The Bruins enter as heavy favorites, but we’ll see if the Blue Jackets can spur an upset.
Passing so pretty it deserves another look.@JDebrusk | @Bmarch63 | © pic.twitter.com/kb6kBSjp0j
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 3, 2022
I’m not too excited about laying that much juice on the Bruins on the road. That said, the Bruins are the better team and have won six of their previous eight games. They are a 43-20-5 team with 91 points going into this evening.
The Bruins trail the Panthers by 11 points in the Atlantic Division. That doesn’t mean anything to the Bruins, though, who are streaking at the right time at the moment.
Seeding won’t mean much if the Bruins go in playing like this. The seeding in the NHL is designed to have standout matchups in the first round anyway, so high seeds have to play each other right away.
Zach = in
Carson = in
Ollie = MOOD pic.twitter.com/1Z3FZ2nssO— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 4, 2022
This is a home and home after the Bruins won at home Saturday, 5-2. Columbus has lost six straight and stumbling down the stretch.
They needed a strong finish to get into playoff contention, but look dead in the water at 32-32-5 and 69 points. The defense is a concern and isn’t getting any better.
Head below for our free Bruins vs. Blue Jackets prediction on April 4, 2022.
Boston Bruins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Odds and Team Statistics:
The following odds are courtesy of Bovada:
| Teams | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | -1.5 (+110) | -245 | Over 6.5 (-115) |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +1.5 (-130) | +205 | Under 6.5 (-105) |
| Team Data | Boston Bruins | Columbus Blue Jackets |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Record | 43-20-5 | 32-32-5 |
| Puckline Record | 27-41 | 40-29 |
| Away/Home Record | 21-9-3 | 18-14-3 |
| Puckline Away/Home | 17-16 | 22-13 |
| Goals Per Game | 3.16 | 3.17 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.66 | 3.74 |
| Shots Per Game | 35.82 | 30.19 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 28.84 | 35.41 |
Bruins vs. Blue Jackets Prediction:
The Blue Jackets have offered little resistance this season, and it has been reduced from little to nothing in recent attempts. The Blue Jackets have allowed 4.2 goals per game through their previous ten outings.
They’ve been struggling on the blueline and in the crease between the pipes. Elvis Merzlikins hasn’t looked like his head has been totally in this season. It’s understandable after he watched one of his good friends pass away in front of him in a Fourth of July accident.
This has been his worst season, with a 3.41 GAA and 0.902 save percentage in his three-year career. As a rookie in the NHL, Merzlikins posted a 2.35 GAA, 0.923 save percentage, and a 2.77 GAA and 0.916 save percentage last season.
Merzlikins may not be focused this season, but there’s no excuse for bad defense. The Latvian isn’t getting much support from his defense. The Jackets are 31st in the league with 35.4 shots against per game. This has resulted in 3.74 goals against a game.
Boston Bruins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends:
- 7-1 overall in their previous eight games versus the Eastern Conference
- 16-5 overall in thier previous 21 games
- OVER is 4-0 in their previous four games as a betting favorite
- OVER is 15-5-1 in their previous 21 games versus the Metropolitan Division
- OVER is 3-1-1 in their previous five games versus a team with a losing record
- 5-12 overall in their previous 17 games as an underdog at home
- 0-6 overall in their previous six games
- OVER is 13-3-1 in their previous 17 games versus the Atlantic Division
- OVER is 12-4-1 in their previous 17 games versus a team with a winning percentage better than 60%
- OVER is 41-16-5 in their previous 62 games
The Bruins are third in the NHL with 35.8 shots per game. They are a bad matchup for the Blue Jackets’ defense, as we saw the other day at TD Garden.
It’s the second straight game the Bruins have netted 5 goals in two attempts. With no sign of the Blue Jackets’ defense seeing improvement this season, we shouldn’t expect anything different.
Columbus is trying to make up for the lapse in defense with their scoring. They’ve been doing alright, but it isn’t enough to keep pace. The Jackets are 13th, with 3.17 goals scored per game.
The Jackets have scored 3 goals a game, but allowed 4.2 goals a contest in their last ten. At home, they’ve been efficient with 3.43 goals per game. However, no relief between the pipes, with 3.6 goals allowed.
On Monday evening, I’m looking at a 5-3 or 4-3 final score at Nationwide Arena. The OVER has to be worth looking at this one in the NHL.
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