In their fourth and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets collide at Nationwide Arena in a divisional matchup. Fox Sports Ohio will broadcast the game, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 5.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
Columbus (-130) is currently favored over Pittsburgh (+110), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-120 to bet the over, +100 for the under).
Netting moneyline bettors 2.1 units, Columbus is 45-35 straight up (SU) overall in the 2017-18 season. That winning percentage, the second-best in the Metropolitan Division so far this season, is a slide from what the team managed during last year’s regular season (50-32). Of its 80 regular season contests, 40 have gone under the total, while 39 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 26-14 SU at home this year.
The Blue Jackets have converted on just 16.9 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that places them in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 26th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 77.1 percent of all penalties.
The Blue Jackets, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.0 times per game overall this season, 2.4 per game over their past five matchups total, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to defend opposition power plays for just 5.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, overall.
With a .922 save percentage and 28.1 saves per game, Sergei Bobrovsky (37-27-5) has been the primary option in goal for Columbus this year. If the Jackets decide to give him a rest, however, head coach John Tortorella may roll with Joonas Korpisalo (8-9-9 record, .898 save percentage, 3.34 goals against average).
The Jackets will continue looking for leadership out of Artemi Panarin and Seth Jones. Panarin (80 points) is up to 27 goals and 53 assists and has recorded two or more points on 17 separate occasions this year. Jones has 16 goals and 41 assists to his name and has notched a point in 38 games.
Pittsburgh is 45-35 straight up (SU) and has earned -4 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. A total of 46 of its matches have gone over the total, while 32 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Penguins are 16-24 SU as the road team this season.
The Penguins currently have the second-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as they’ve scored on 25.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Pittsburgh’s players have been whistled for penalties 4.0 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their last five contests total, and 3.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s been forced to defend opponent power plays 8.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Matt Murray (2.90 goals against average and .907 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Pittsburgh. Murray is averaging 26.3 saves per game and owns a 28-20-3 record.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Penguins will be Evgeni Malkin, who has 42 goals and 54 assists this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
Pittsburgh is 2-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Columbus is 6-4 in shootouts.
The total has gone over in four of Columbus’ last five outings.
This game features two clubs that take a heavy amount of shots on goal. Pittsburgh has taken the league’s second-most shots on goal (34.5) while Columbus’s attempted the fifth-most (33.8).
Over Columbus’ last ten outings, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-0 in those games).
Pittsburgh skaters have accounted for the seventh-most hits in the league (23.9 per game), but that number’s down to just 21.0 hits over their last five away games.
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