Two teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets face off at Nationwide Arena. This Eastern Conference matchup gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, November 25 and it’ll air live on The Sports Network.
Ottawa Senators at Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
Columbus enters the contest as the substantial favorite with a moneyline of -160. The line for Ottawa is standing at +140, and the Over/Under (O/U) is placed at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting that total sit at -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.
Ottawa is 11-12 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.0 units this season. Through 23 regular season outings, 13 of its games have gone under the total, while 10 have gone over and none have pushed. This 2019-20 Senators team is 4-8 SU on the road.
Ottawa has converted on just 10.1 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 31st in the NHL. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked 16th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.6 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Ottawa has been sent to the penalty box 4.3 times per game overall during the 2019-20 season, and 3.0 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Boasting a .928 save percentage and 31.0 saves per game, Anders Nilsson (7-5-1) has been the primary option in goal for Ottawa this season. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, head coach Dj Smith might go with Craig Anderson (4-9 record, .901 save percentage, 3.11 goals against average).
The visiting Senators have relied heavily on Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair this year. Pageau (19 points) is up to 13 goals and six assists, and has recorded two or more points in three different games. Duclair has 10 goals and five assists to his credit (and has logged a point in 10 games).
On the other side of the ice, Columbus is 9-13 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 22 regular season matches, 12 of its games have gone under the total, while nine have gone over and just one has pushed. It’s 6-6 SU as the home team this season.
Columbus has converted on 20.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
Columbus skaters have been sent to the penalty box only 3.2 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 7.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Joonas Korpisalo (25.6 saves per game) has been the top netminder in the crease for Columbus. Korpisalo has nine wins, eight losses, and one overtime loss and has registered a pedestrian 3.04 goals against average and a poor .897 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Pierre-Luc Dubois (10 goals, seven assists).
Ottawa Senators vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their last five matchups.
- Ottawa has managed 26.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Columbus is averaging 35.0 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Blue Jackets are 2-4 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Senators are 4-5 SU in games where they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
- Columbus is ranked 19th overall with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as the team has managed 5.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.4 takeaways over its last five.
- Ottawa has allowed 3.1 goals per game overall this year, but has given up only 1.7 per contest over the team’s three-game winning streak.
- Ottawa skaters have averaged 5.8 takeaways per game over its last five road games, right in line with its season average of 6.0 takeaways per game (ranked 27th in the NHL).
