The Columbus Blue Jackets (3-6-0) travel to the Prudential Center to face off against the New Jersey Devils (5-3-0) Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Blue Jackets vs. Devils odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Blue Jackets come into this game on a 2-game losing streak — 4-0 to the Boston Bruins on Friday after a 6-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
The Devils come in on a 2-game winning streak — beating the defending champion Colorado Avalanche 1-0 on Friday after a 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
This will be a game of differing styles. The Devils still play the trap defense and slow progression play of the past. The Blue Jackets try to play more fast paced with more scoring opportunities. The team who sets the pace will be the winner of this matchup on Sunday.
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Blue Jackets at Devils odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:26 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Blue Jackets +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | Devils -210 (bet $210 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Blue Jackets +1.5 (-140) | Devils -1.5 (+115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -130 | U: +105)
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Blue Jackets at Devils projected goalies
Elvis Merzlikins (2-3-0, 4.31 GAA, .863SV%) vs. Vitek Vanecek (2-1-0, 2.40GAA, .889SV%)
Merzlikins has given up 4 goals in each of his last 2 starts. On Friday against Boston, he gave up those 4 goals on 29 shots. On Tuesday, after giving up 4 goals on only 12 shots, he was pulled in the 6-3 loss to Arizona.
Vanecek has given up a total of 2 goals in his last 2 starts. After allowing 2 goals on 22 shots on Tuesday against Detroit, he shut out Colorado on 24 shots on goal.
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Blue Jackets at Devils picks and predictions
Prediction
Devils 5, Blue Jackets 2
Moneyline
AVOID.
The Devils’ (-210) price is too high to make a wager on and the Blue Jackets (+165) cannot be trusted in this matchup.
Puck line/Against the spread
BET DEVILS -1.5 (+115).
The Devils and Vanecek have the upper hand in this game.
Coming in on a 2-game winning streak, the Devils will be able to score on Merzlikins and his 4.31 GAA.
With the Blue Jackets giving up 10 goals in their last 2 games to only 2 given up by the Devils, this should be a good spot for the DEVILS to cover the -1.5 (+115) puck line.
This is my FAVORITE PLAY in this game.
Over/Under
SKIP.
With the goalie play of the Blue Jackets lacking, this game can go Over 6.5 as the odds predict. But with the Devils’ tendency to play slow and to not allow many shots (23 on average in the last 2 games), I do not see the Blue Jackets getting enough opportunity to do so.
Despite Columbus being 6-3 to the Over of its posted totals and New Jersey being 4-4, this game feels like a bet on the Under if at all. With as bad as the Columbus goaltending has been, I do not want to bet on this either. This is a skip for me.
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