The Tampa Bay Lightning have only lost 10 total games this season as they lead the NHL by a mile in points. The Bolts look to avoid a rare two-game skid on Tuesday when they host a Columbus Blue Jackets team that has been one of the best on the road. The Lightning is heavily favored on the NHL odds, however.
How to Bet Blue Jackets at Lightning NHL Week 15 Odds & Game Info
“I don’t believe in ‘measuring stick games.’ I’m just concerned about our team.” – Torts#CBJ pic.twitter.com/hZwopXtgvS
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) 7 de enero de 2019
- When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET
- Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- Radio: TuneIn
- NHL Week 15 Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning -177 / Columbus Blue Jackets +160 (Total 6.5)
Season Series
Tampa leads 1-0 as it embarrassed visiting Columbus 8-2 on Oct. 13. Victor Hedman, Cedric Paquette, and Yanni Gourde had first-period goals, and the Bolts never looked back. Brayden Point scored in both the second and third periods, and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 30 saves for Tampa Bay. Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, and J.T. Miller had the other Lightning goals.Columbus got goals from Josh Anderson and Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots. The Blue Jackets are coached by John Tortorella, who coached Tampa to its only Stanley Cup title in 2004.
Why Bet on Columbus?
The Jackets enter off a 4-3 OT win at Florida on Saturday. Seth Jones scored the overtime winner. Jones goal was scored only 18 seconds into the extra frame, allowing the Blue Jackets to escape. Jones has seven goals and 25 points in only 34 games as he sat out the first seven games of the season with a knee injury suffered in training camp. Jones’ overtime goal was his seventh, the most regular-season overtime goals among defensemen since the 2013-14 season, tying him with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson, and Anthony Duclair also scored for the Blue Jackets. Duclair was sent in on a breakaway by Alex Wennberg and beat James Reimer with a wrister to open the scoring 1:37 into the hockey game. It’s points in back-to-back games for Duclair after going 14 straight without one. He sits at nine goals and 14 points in 35 games this season.
Sergei Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 30 shots. The Blue Jackets held a 1-0 lead early in the game before the Panthers ended the opening period with a couple of goals to take the lead. Bobrovsky is now 18-12-1 with a 2.81 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage.
Top forward Nick Foligno (personal) will not be available for Tuesday’s game. Foligno is with his daughter, Milana, who underwent scheduled surgery on Dec. 31. She was born with a congenital heart defect, but is doing better. Foligno has missed the past three games.
Columbus completed the first half of the slate Saturday with an overtime win at Florida, and the team is on pace for 48 wins and 102 points, which would both place second in franchise history after the 2016-17 squad.
Why Bet on Tampa Bay?
Tampa enters the game 10 points clear of the rest of the league and pace to win more than 60 games. The Lightning lead the NHL in scoring with 4.12 goals per game, while slotting 16th defensively allowing 2.95 tallies per contest. The team’s power play has been lethal, scoring at a 30.1-percent rate, while the penalty kill is also solid at 82.5 percent. Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in scoring with 69 points on 20 goals and 49 assists.
The Bolts were knocked off 5-2 in San Jose on Saturday, seeing their 16-game points streak end. It was Tampa’s first regulation loss in 5½ weeks.
They had won seven straight and were 15-0-1 since a 3-1 loss to Anaheim on Nov. 27.
Mikhail Sergachev scored his first of the season in the loss. Fellow defenseman Victor Hedman also scored for Tampa Bay. Sergachev had a big rookie season with nine goals and 40 points in 79 games but this season has been anything but smooth skating for the sophomore. He has 14 points in 40 games thus far and has been a healthy scratch on a couple of occasions. Hedman got the Lightning on the board late in the first period after the Sharks jumped out to a 2-0 lead. He also posted one hit and four blocks in the match. Hedman has five markers and 26 points in 35 games this year.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will play between the pipes Tuesday night. Vasilevskiy allowed five goals on 33 shots in a 5-2 loss to San Jose on Saturday. That dropped him to 16-4-2 with a 2.66 GAA and .920 save percentage in 22 games this season.
J.T. Miller (upper body) joined the Lightning for Monday’s practice. Miller didn’t take part in contact drills, though. Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde described Miller as being ahead of schedule, but still week-to-week. Miller has seven goals and 26 points in 38 contests this season.
Blue Jackets at Lightning NHL Betting Trends
- Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Tampa Bay
- Under is 20-8-1 in the last 29 meetings
- Columbus is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Columbus is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus’s last 6 games on the road
- Tampa Bay is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- Tampa Bay is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Tampa Bay’s last 9 games
Expert NHL Betting Prediction for Blue Jackets at Lightning
Lightning win 4-2.</p.
