As we await tonights results we have locked in Saturday’s picks. A system pick is alerted for an early game (4:00 ET) while the Lightning will likely receive a lot of action dropping the odds.
Listing the system pick first as it starts early.
System Picks (Members Only)
(4:00 ET)
Philadelphia Flyers @ Los Angeles Kings: OVER 5 GOALS 1.80
Risk: 2 Units | Win: 1.60 Units
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Columbus Blue Jackets @ Tampa Bay Lightning: LIGHTNING -1.5 2.29
Risk: 2 Units | Win: 2.58 Units
The Columbus Blue Jackets sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan division standings with a record of 8-15-2, a mere 18 points. The Lightning lead the entire NHL in points with 39, accompanied by an impressive 18-6-3 record. The Bolts lead the league in scoring with an average of 3.56 goals per game, while Columbus is 26th in scoring with 2.28 goals per game, and have scored just 1.90 goals per game over their last 10 games, while allowing 3.10 GA/GP. Tampa Bay has managed to score 3.60 goals per game over their past 10 games, five goals in their last game, and have won seven of their past ten games. Of those seven games, the Lightning won five of them by at least three goals (5-2, 5-1, 4-1, 6-3, 5-0). The Columbus defense is an abomination, sitting second from the bottom (29th) allowing 3.44 goals against per game overall. Tampa Bay ranks 9th on defense with 2.44 GA/GP and are coming off of a 5-0 victory over the Sabres after falling to the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout two days prior. When it comes to special teams, the Lightning have the Blue Jackets dominated in all aspects, as the Bolts power play is 5th overall at 23.2%, 28.3% when playing at Home, and 22.9% over the last 10 games. This is bad news for Columbus and their 25th overall penalty kill unit that is successful just 75.8% of the time, and is just 73.5% over their last 10 games. Ben Bishop will likely get the start tomorrow and is coming off of a shutout and is 16-3-2 on the season with a 2.20 GAA and a .919 save percentage. Sergei Bobrovsky is probable for Columbus with a record of 7-8-1, a 2.88 GAA and a .914 SV%. The Blue Jackets lost six of their last ten games, four of those losses came by at least two goals. Columbus has a long list of injuries which includes three Centers (Anisimov, Letestu, Dubinsky) and are terrible at both scoring and defending. The Lightning have what is takes to cover the puck line against the Blue Jackets on Saturday.
