The Nashville Predators (2-2-1) take a short trip to face the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-3-0) Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Predators vs. Blue Jackets odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Preds have dropped 3 in a row after 2 wins against the San Jose Sharks to open their season. They fell 4-1 and 5-1 to the Dallas Stars and 4-3 to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime. They were 1-0-1 against Columbus last year with a 6-0 victory and 4-3 shootout loss. C Mikael Granlund leads the team with 5 points – all assists. RW Nino Niederreiter has paced the offense with 4 goals.
The Blue Jackets secured their 1st win of the season with a 4-3 overtime win Tuesday over the Vancouver Canucks. LW Johnny Gaudreau leads the team with 4 points in what has been a really slow start. The Blue Jackets have scored more than 2 goals just once in 4 games.
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Predators at Blue Jackets odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:01 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Predators -150 (bet $150 to win $100) | Blue Jackets +120 (bet $100 to win $120)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Predators -1.5 (+150) | Blue Jackets +1.5 (-190)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Predators at Blue Jackets projected goalies
Juuse Saros (1-2-1, 3.00 GAA, .897 SV%, 0 SO) vs. Elvis Merzlikins (1-1-1, 3.89 GAA, .867 SV%, 0 SO)
It has been a rough start for Saros, who has allowed at least 3 goals in his last 3 starts. He shut out the Blue Jackets in his lone start against them last season with 27 saves. His 2021-22 season was cut short due to a lower-body injury, and he’s clearly still getting his legs under him. This will be a litmus test game for him as Columbus has had trouble scoring.
Merzlikins looked more like himself in a 4-3 overtime win against Vancouver last time out. He allowed 5 goals in St. Louis’ home opener in his only other start. He had a mixed bag against Nashville last season with a 4-3 shootout win with 31 stops and a game in which he was pulled 13 minutes into after allowed 3 goals on 9 shots.
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Predators at Blue Jackets picks and predictions
Prediction
Predators 3, Blue Jackets 2
Moneyline
The Preds take this one. They’re 49-19 over the last 68 meetings, and Columbus being without RW Patrik Laine is really stinging. The PREDATORS (-150) is at a solid price here. Take advantage of it because this line should be about -160 if Saros were in midseason form.
Puck line/Against the spread
There’s nothing to see here. The Preds aren’t clicking enough to back them dispatching a team by 2 goals on the road. And Columbus’ -190 is out of the price range.
PASS.
Over/Under
There are some Over trends here, but Nashville isn’t playing well enough for me to side with them. The Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Columbus, and if this were a 5.5 line, I might take a stab at it. Columbus has 9 goals in 4 games, and Nashville has 5 goals in the last 3 games. We’ll take the UNDER 6.5 (-105).
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