In their last head-to-head matchup of the regular season, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers meet at Rogers Place in an East-West showdown. Sportsnet West will broadcast the matchup, which gets underway at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 27.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Edmonton Oilers Odds
Columbus (-150) is currently favored over Edmonton (+130) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Columbus is 42-34 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.1 units this season. Through 76 regular season outings, 40 of its games have gone under the total, while 35 have gone over and just one has pushed. As a road team this season, the Jackets are 17-20 SU.
Columbus has converted on just 15.2 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 25th in the league, and it’s successfully killed off only 77.6 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Jackets have been penalized just 3.0 times per game this season, and 3.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 6.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 28.1 saves per game with a .922 save percentage, Sergei Bobrovsky (34-27-5) has been the best option in goal for Columbus this season. If head coach John Tortorella decides to rest him, however, the team may go with Joonas Korpisalo (8-8), who has a .902 save percentage and 3.23 goals against average this year.
Artemi Panarin and Thomas Vanek will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Blue Jackets. Panarin (69 points) has tallied 25 goals and 44 assists, and has recorded multiple points 14 times. Vanek has 21 goals and 29 assists to his creditand has notched at least one point in 36 games.
On the other side of the ice, Edmonton is 34-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 14.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 36 of its contests have gone over the total, while another 36 have gone under and just four have pushed. It’s 17-21 SU at home this year.
The Oilers have converted on just 14.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
Oilers players have been sent to the penalty box 3.6 times per game in total this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five at home. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 7.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cam Talbot has stopped 27.9 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for the Oilers. Talbot has 30 wins, 31 losses, and three OT losses to his credit and has recorded a pedestrian 2.98 goals against average and a subpar .909 save percentage this year.
Connor McDavid (39 goals, 60 assists) will pace the attack for Edmonton.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Edmonton Oilers Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Over Edmonton’s last ten outings, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-1 in those games).
- The Blue Jackets are 18-16 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 36-27 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- Columbus is 6-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Edmonton is 4-1 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in three of Edmonton’s last five outings.
- Edmonton skaters have averaged 16.6 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 12.4 giveaways per game (ranked 30th in the NHL).
- Columbus skaters have averaged 8.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 6.2 giveaways per game (the fourth-fewest in the league).
- The Oilers this season have recorded the second-most hits in the league (26.6 per game), but that average has jumped up to 30.2 over their past five home outings.
