Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Blue Jackets vs. Lightning NHL Odds
Looking for Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Blue Jackets taking on the Lightning on Wednesday August 19th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Blue Jackets Lightning matchup.
NHL Handicapping Analysis
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Date: Wednesday, August 19th
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto ON
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Blue Jackets +155 Lightning -175
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Lightning -1.5 (+155)
NHL Betting Total: 5
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Tampa Bay can close out a pesky Columbus team with a win on Wednesday morning. The Blue Jackets stole one in game two, but otherwise the Lightning have been able to take a commanding series lead.
This series has been closer than the 3-1 TB lead would suggest though. Each one of the Lightning wins have been by a single goal. The highest scoring offense in the league has also been held to 3 goals or less in all four.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo has largely kept up his end of the bargain, including in the game one marathon when he faced an amazing 88 shots. Korpisalo has held Tampa Bay to two goals or less in 2 of the last 3.
What the Blue Jackets can’t get going is their offense. It was never a real strength of Columbus anyways as they were 27th in the league in scoring. The Lightning have held the Blue Jackets to 2 goals or less in 3 of 4.
Either way, this series has been close but not worth buying the +1.5 puck line for -175. Two games have gone under the total and two have been a push so it’s hard to imagine a high scoring affair, especially with an early 12:00 PM ET start.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay has squeaked out 1-goal wins in 3 of 4 in this series and is 5-2 since the restart. Tampa Bay only managed 22 shots on Monday as Columbus has amped up their defense a bit.
The Blue Jackets were 4th in goals against and 7th in SOG faced during the regular. In that regard Tampa Bay has done a pretty solid job of firing off shots as they had at least 34 in the first three games.
Only a matter of time before some of the multitude of shots start slipping by, even as solid as Korpisalo has been. On the other end, Andrei Vasilevskiy has faced 22, 17, and 29 shots the last three. That’s just not fair.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Blue Jackets are 7-17 last 24 overall
- Under is 6-0-2 in Lightning last 8 overall
- Under is 27-10-3 last 40 head to head meetings
Free Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Prediction:
The Blue Jackets are simply playing with fire with the shot disparity. Their offense has been efficient, scoring 5 goals on 39 shots in games two and three but you need volume to keep up with the Lightning skaters.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Over 5
This could be the game where the wheels come off for Korpisalo. He’s been getting pelted.
**NOTE** – The 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers will begin Saturday, Aug. 1 in Florida and Toronto. The top four teams in both conferences will play a 3-game round robin for seeding in the First Round. The 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers will be best-of-5 series with the losing teams being entered into Phase 2 of the NHL Draft Lottery.
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