The Columbus Blue Jackets (26-40-12) travel to face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-27-7) on Tuesday, April 9th. This game will be played at Amalie Arena in Tampa and televised on ESPN+. Both the Blue Jackets and Lightning will be looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 ET.

Blue Jackets vs Lightning

The Columbus Blue Jackets Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

As the season winds down, the Blue Jackets find themselves in 16th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-40-12. In the Metropolitan Division, Columbus is in 8th place with a division record of 6-19 and 64 points.

On the road this season, the Blue Jackets have struggled, going just 10-21-7, and they have lost five straight games away from home. As the underdog, Columbus has gone 22-38-11 this year, and over their last ten games, they have a record of 3-7.

On the road, Columbus has gone 21-17 against the puck line this season, and their average scoring margin is at -1.1 goals per game. So far, the Blue Jackets have gone 44-34 vs. the puck line, including 17 losses by just one goal.

Over their last ten road games, Columbus has gone just 3-7 against the puck line, and their average scoring margin as the underdog is at -0.9 goals per game. In their last three games, the Blue Jackets have gone just 1-2 vs. the puck line.

Coming off a 3-0 loss on the road to the Hurricanes, the Blue Jackets are hoping to bounce back today. In this game, Columbus’ offense had a challenging time against the Hurricanes and failed to score. While being shutout, the Blue Jackets’ offense finished with 5 giveaways and took a total of 23 shots on goal.

As the underdog, Columbus suffered both a straight-up and loss vs. the puck line. The over/under line for the game was 6.5, and it concluded with a combined total of 3 goals.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

At home this season, the Lightning have been dominant, going 23-10-4. Overall, they are 43-27-7 and have 93 points, putting them 6th in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the Atlantic Division. Against other Eastern Conference teams, Tampa Bay is 24-21.

Over their last ten games, the Lightning have gone 7-3, and they have won three of their last five. When favored this season, Tampa Bay is 29-15-2. For the year, they have been favored in 46 of their 77 games.

So far this season, Tampa Bay has an average scoring margin of +.3 goals per game. Overall, the Lightning’s puck line record is 41-36, and they have 32 wins by multiple goals.

At home, Tampa Bay has a puck line record of 21-16, and their average scoring margin is at +.8 goals per game. In their last ten games at home, the Lightning’s puck line record is 4-6.

The Lightning aim to bounce back following their 5-4 loss on the road to the Penguins. In the first period, the Lightning struggled to find the net on offense, but they turned things around with one time in the second period and three goals in the third. Of Tampa Bay’s four goals, two came while in power play. They ended the game with 34 shots on goal and had three giveaways.

Tampa Bay took a loss against the puck line, going into the game as the favorites with a -1.5-point advantage. The over/under line going into the game was 6 goals, which the teams surpassed with their combined 9 goals.

Columbus Offense Breakdown

For their offensive performance, the Blue Jackets come in averaging 2.8 goals per game this season, which is 26th in the NHL. In the category of shots on goal per game, they are 20th in the league. Coming into the game, the Blue Jackets have a 9-11 record when they have more shots on goal than their opponent. When they have fewer shots on goal, they are 16-28.

The Blue Jackets’ come into the game with an over/under record of 36-37-5. Over the course of last season, they had 36 games that did not surpass the 6.5 over/under line. The average number of goals in their games was 6.6 per game.

Lightning Offense Breakdown

For their offensive performance, the Lightning come in averaging 3.5 goals per game this season, which is 5th in the NHL. In the category of shots on goal per game, they are 22nd in the league. This season, the Lightning are 24-14 when getting more shots on goal than their opponents. And in games with fewer shots on goal, they have a 18-11 record.

This season, the over/under record for the Lightning’s is 37-36-4. Over the course of the season, they have had 39 games that exceeded the over/under line of 6.5. On average, their games are averaging 6.8 goals per game.

Columbus Team Defense

In terms of defense, the Blue Jackets head into the game ranked 1st in goals allowed. On average, opponents are taking 33.9 shots per game against Columbus. So far, they are 31st in shutouts, achieving 1 shutouts.

Tampa Bay Team Defense

The Lightning defense is currently 24th in goals allowed. Opponents are averaging 29.2 shots per game against Tampa Bay. In terms of shutouts, they come into the game ranked 14th with 4 shutouts.

Blue Jackets vs Lightning Trends

• When looking at their past ten road matchups, Columbus has an puck line record of 3-7 while averaging 1 per game. The team went 1-9 overall in these games.
• Across their ten previous home games, Tampa Bay has an puck line mark of 4-6. Their straight up record in these matchups was 5-5 while averaging 3 goals per game.
• In their last three games as the betting underdog, the Lightning have a strong straight up record of 2-1. In addition, their puck line record was 3-0 in these scenarios.
• Going back to their previous ten games as the favorite, Columbus has an puck line mark of 4-6 while going 5-5 straight up.

Blue Jackets vs Lightning Prediction

If you’re looking for a moneyline bet in this one, we have the Lightning coming out on top. However, with the lines sitting at -347, I’d recommend looking to the puck line as our projections have the Lightning winning by more than one goal.

When making a puck line pick, we’re backing the Lightning to win and cover. Watch for the Lightning to win this game by multiple goals over the Blue Jackets.

For those assessing the over/under line set at 6.5 goals, our expectation is that this game will stay below that mark, and we suggest making a bet on the under.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.