Blue Jackets vs Lightning 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Lines & Game 2 Preview

Written by on April 11, 2019

The Columbus Blue Jackets shockingly stole Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at record-setting Tampa Bay. However, the Lightning are big NHL Betting favorites to even things up on Friday night.

How to Bet Blue Jackets vs Lightning 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Lines & Game 2 Info

Avalanche vs Flames 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds & Pick for Game 1

Why Bet on Columbus?

To say the Blue Jackets’ 4-3 win in Tampa on Wednesday was unlikely is putting it mildly considering the Lightning tied the NHL record with 62 wins this season and led 3-0 after one period.

Seth Jones scored the go-ahead goal on the power play to cap Columbus’ three-goal third period. The Jackets got off to a horrible start, as they allowed the Lightning to jump ahead 3-0 after 20 minutes. But they found their legs over the final 40 minutes of the game. Jones’ power-play tally at the 14:05 mark of the third frame gave the Blue Jackets their first lead of the hockey game. He finished Game 1 with a minus-1 rating, one shot, one hit and six blocked shots in 25:33 of ice time.

Josh Anderson scored a goal and an assist in the upset. Anderson registered the only assist on Nick Folingo’s second-period goal (3-1) before scoring the game-tying goal while his team was shorthanded in the third frame. The 24-year-old finished Game 1 with an even rating, three shots on goal and two hits in 14:50 of ice time.

It was Foligno’s goal that started the Blue Jackets’ comeback. He’s been effective lately, recording at least a point in four of his last five games. David Savard scored a goal and is on a three-game point streak. It was also his first career playoff goal in 18 games. Artemi Panarin had an assist and is on a four-game point streak dating back to the regular season. He had two goals and seven points in six playoff games last year.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 of 29 shots. Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 13 shots in the opening frame, but he settled down over the final two periods. Columbus has trailed by multiple goals in five of its six all-time playoff wins (also Games 2 and 4 of 2014 R1 vs. PIT and Games 1 and 2 of 2018 R1 vs. WSH).

Team Stats

Offense
  • Goals: 3.16
  • Shots: 31.52
  • PP/PK Percentage: 15.70

Defense

  • Goals: 2.83
  • Shots: 29.48
  • PP/PK Percentage: 14.78

Why Bet on Tampa Bay?

Hard to see the Lightning losing a second straight game – they clearly took things for granted Wednesday after that 3-0 lead. The ease with which the Lightning scored in the first period, however, may have come back to bite them. The Lightning, who matched the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the most wins in a regular season with 62, got first-period goals from Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde.

Cirelli’s goal made it 2-0 for the Lightning at the 11:01 mark of the first period. Cirelli finished the night with a plus-2 rating and four shots on goal in 13:26 of ice time in Game 1. Gourde finished the game with an even rating and three shots on goal in 16:38 of ice time.

Blue Jackets vs Lightning should be a close one.

Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 26. The Bolts allowed the Blue Jackets to tie the game with a shorthanded goal by Josh Anderson and they eventually allowed the game-winner to Seth Jones on the power play. Tampa played without top defenseman Anton Stralman with a lower-body injury. Dan Girardi was paired with Victor Hedman.

Columbus became the sixth team in NHL history to rally from a deficit of at least three goals to win a playoff game against the No. 1-seeded club. The Blue Jackets became the 27th team in League history to overcome a deficit of at least three goals and win a playoff game in regulation and first since the Jets in Game 3 of the 2018 Second Round against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Predators (7-4 W).

“It’s a tough lesson,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “Guys should be mad.”

The 2018-19 regular season featured an all-time high of 138 multi-goal comeback wins. Overall, 41% of games contested during the 2018-19 regular season saw a team overcome a deficit of at least one goal to win (525 of 1,271 GP) – the second-most comeback wins in NHL history (537 in 2005-06).

Team Stats

Offense
  • Goals: 3.95
  • Shots: 31.89
  • PP/PK Percentage: 28.03

Defense

  • Goals: 2.72
  • Shots: 32.04
  • PP/PK Percentage: 15.24

Blue Jackets vs Lightning 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Trends

  • Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Tampa Bay
  • Favorite is 19-7 in the last 26 meetings
  • Columbus is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
  • Columbus is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
  • The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Columbus’s last 14 games on the road
  • Tampa Bay is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Columbus
  • Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Columbus
  • The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Tampa Bay’s last 24 games when playing Columbus

Expert Final Score Prediction for Blue Jackets vs Lightning

Columbus Blue Jackets 2 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4