The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Tampa Bay Lightning battle at Amalie Arena in Game 1 of the postseason’s first round. The opening face-off is at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 10, and fans at home can catch it live on USA, R360, TVA and FSOH.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Columbus (+190) is entering this one as the underdog to Tampa Bay (-230), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-120 under, +100 over). Those O/U odds have shifted after initially opening at -110 for both.
Tampa Bay is 62-20 straight up (SU) and has netted 30.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 54-28 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Of its 82 games this season, 44 have gone over the total, while 35 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team’s 32-9 SU at home this season.
The Lightning currently have the best power-play unit in the NHL, as the team has scored on 28.4 percent of their extra-man opportunities this season. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked second overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 85.0 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 29.9 saves per game with a .925 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (39-14-4) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If the Bolts, however, choose to give him the night off, Tampa Bay might turn to Louis Domingue (21-5-5 record, .908 save percentage, 2.88 goals against average).
On the other side of the ice, Columbus is 47-35 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.6 units this year. A total of 45 of its contests have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just six have pushed. As the away team, the Blue Jackets are 25-16 SU.
The Blue Jackets have converted on just 15.4 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that places them in the bottom-five overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked second overall and it’s successfully killed off 85.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Sergei Bobrovsky (25.9 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Columbus. Bobrovsky owns a 37-25-1 record, while registering a .913 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average this year.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five matchups.
- Nine of Columbus’ last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 6-3 in those games.
- Including the regular season, the Lightning have tallied the sixth-most hits per game in the NHL (25.8).
