Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/28/2022

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, April 28, 2022

Venue:  Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH

Where to Watch:  BSOH

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Lightning -275, Blue Jackets +220; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Lightning -275, Blue Jackets +220; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Lightning -275, Blue Jackets +220; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

 

Tampa Bay Lightning:  50-22-8 (3rd place, Atlantic Division)

Columbus Blue Jackets:  36-37-7 (6th place, Metropolitan Division)

 

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Tampa Bay Lightning:  7-2-1 last 10

Columbus Blue Jackets:  4-5-1 last 10

 

 

 

The Lightning are coming into this game with 108 points, a 50-22-8 record overall, and they are 23-14-2 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They have won 6 of their last 7 games and are coming into this one on a 4 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Detroit Red Wings while their 6 wins in that span came against the Anaheim Ducks, the Winnipeg Jets, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Nashville Predators, the Florida Panthers, and the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last game. They won that game at home 4-1. Steven Stamkos scored 2 goals in that game while Nikita Kucherov and Ondřej Palát each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Steven Stamkos led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 21 shots with 20 saves and a .952 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 279 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 224 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game. 

 

 

The Blue Jackets are coming into this game with 79 points, a 36-37-7 record overall, and they are 20-15-5 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Edmonton Oilers while their 5 losses in that span have come against the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks, the San Jose Sharks, the Ottawa Senators, and the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last game. They lost that game on the road 4-1. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the only goal for them in that one while Jack Roslovic and Zach Werenski both assisted. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nick Blankenburg, and Cole Sillinger led the team in shots on net in that game with 3 each. Elvis Merzļikins was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 32 shots with 28 saves and a .875 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 254 goals this season averaging 3.2 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 292 goals against them allowing 3.7 goals per game. 

 

 

The Lightning are coming into this game as a massive favorite with the current betting odds. They have been playing very well in their games recently and have won 5 of their last 6 games. The Blue Jackets have had an awful season and they are playing very poorly coming into this game as well as they have lost 5 of their last 6. They just lost on the road in Tampa in their last game and even though they will likely fight a little harder here at home, they are still not good enough to beat the Lightning here. The Lightning have a very deep team so even if they rest some players they are still too good for the Blue Jackets to beat. They have been heating up recently and they will be looking to stay hot coming into the playoffs as well. The Lightning just smashed the Blue Jackets at home in their last game and they will do the same here on the road. The best bet here is on the Lightning to win this game on the puckline.

 

Lightning Blue Jackets Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, April 28, 2022 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Lightning 4 Blue Jackets 2.

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Tampa Bay Lightning: 162-91 (+10.1 Units) ML in all games. 48-22 (+10.5 Units) ML after allowing 1 goal or less in their previous game. 21-13 OVER after scoring 3 goals or more in 2 straight games.

Columbus Blue Jackets: 90-125 (-18.6 Units) ML in all games. 42-62 (-7.4 Units) ML revenging a loss versus opponent. 15-7 OVER in a home game where the total is 6 or more.

 

 

Tampa Bay Lightning:  E. Cernak (D) Ques Thurs - Upper Body injury. J. Rutta (D) Ques Thurs - Undisclosed injury. B. Seabrook (D) out for season - Shoulder injury.

Columbus Blue Jackets:  P. Laine (LW) Out indefinitely - Upper Body injury. A. Boqvist (D) Ques Thurs - Lower Body injury. S. Kuraly (C) out for season - Foot injury. B. Jenner (C) out for season - Back injury. J. Korpisalo (G) out for season - Hip injury. A. Texier (C) Out indefinitely - Finger injury. D. Tarasov (G) out for season - Hip injury.

 

 

 

“It’s been a pretty good run here in the last couple of weeks. If you would have asked me about this a couple of weeks ago, I would’ve settled for something less than 100.” - Steven Stamkos on his team’s win against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

 

 

“You make mistakes with a team like that, they’re lethal. One little mistake and it ends up in your net. They’ve won two Cups for a reason.” - Brad Larsen on his team’s loss against the Lightning on Tuesday night.

 

 

 

LW Palat, Ondrej

C Stamkos, Steven

RW Kucherov, Nikita

LD Hedman, Victor

RD Cernak, Erik

G Vasilevskiy, Andrei

 

LW Nyquist, Gustav

C Roslovic, Jack

RW Voracek, Jakub

LD Werenski, Zachary

RD Peeke, Andrew

G Merzlikins, Elvis

 

 

Points: S. Stamkos (101)

Goals: S. Stamkos (39)

Assists: V. Hedman (62)

GAA: B. Elliott (2.33)

 

Points: J. Voracek (59)

Goals: P. Laine (26)

Assists: J. Voracek (54)

GAA: D. Tarasov (2.40)

 

Coaches:

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (10th season)

Columbus Blue Jackets: Brad Larsen (1st season)