Columbus Blue Jackets - Vegas Golden Knights predictions and free betting tips [05/03/2024]

The Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Vegas Golden Knights in their upcoming NHL regular season match.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus has become an arena where the Blue Jackets are vying to change their fate. With 50 points, they are currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, having secured only 10 wins from their 30 home games (10-16-4). Recently, they managed to break a two-match losing streak with a 5-2 victory over Chicago, the weakest team in the Western Conference. In this game, Elvis Merzlikins deflected 26 throws, recording his 12th win of the season, while five different Blue Jackets players scored. In each of his last three games, Merzlikins has only allowed two pucks past him, demonstrating his stability in goal.

Merzlikins has shared that the team has been playing great hockey recently and doesn't feel much pressure, instead enjoying games and demonstrating a good fight on the ice. He highlighted that the team is striving to play their own version of hockey, which has been resulting in positive outcomes.

In their last match against the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus showed a powerful attack. Cole Sillinger made his contribution by scoring one of the pucks. On average, the Blue Jackets score 2.93 pucks per game but allow 3.65, ranking them at 24th for offence and 31st for defence in the league. The team needs to enhance their defensive game to achieve stability.

Following their victory over the Blackhawks and defeats against the Rangers and Hurricanes, Columbus shows a scoring average of 2.93 goals per game and executes 14.7% of opportunities when in the majority. Boone Jenner leads the team's top scorers with 19 pucks, Johnny Gaudreau has made 34 assists, and among Russians, Kirill Marchenko is the best with 17 pucks and 14 assists, while Chinakhov has 15 pucks and 13 assists, and Voronkov has 16 and 14 respectively. The Blue Jackets’ defender, Provorov has 5 pucks and 21 assists. Defensive indicators also need improvements for Blue Jackets, allowing 3.65 pucks per game and reflecting 77% throws while being in a minority. Daniil Tarasov has dropped 50 pucks, while Elvis Merzlikins has allowed 104.

Vegas Golden Knights

In the past two weeks, the Vegas Golden Knights have encountered serious defensive problems, conceding 30 goals in six matches, including seven in two of the last five games. This has resulted in the team dropping to third place in the Pacific Division, falling 10 points behind leader Vancouver and trailing Edmonton by one. The situation is aggravated by the injuries of their leading forwards: Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and William Carrier. Despite having a strong line-up in defense and two talented goalkeepers, including Adin Hill, the 2023 Stanley Cup star, and Logan Thompson, the team is struggling.

During their current away tour, the Golden Knights recorded a 1-2-1 result, with their only win coming against Toronto with a 6-2 scoreline. This followed a series of defeats, including losses to Ottawa in the shootout series with a score of 3:4, to Boston with a score 5:6 and to Buffalo with a dire 2:7 score. The head coach emphasised that despite the loss of key players, the team is looking for ways to get their offense back on track.

Vegas is set to face a challenging upcoming match, after losing in their last two games. Statistics show that on average, the team concedes 3.18 pucks per game while their defense concedes 2.91. With their offensive ranking at 14th in the league and their defense at 10th, Jonathan Marchessault has been making strides in the team, scoring 32 pucks and making 31 assists this season.

After their win over Toronto, Vegas suffered losses to the Sabres and the Bruins. The team scores an average of 3.18 pucks per game and realises 19.6% of majority play opportunities. Marchessault continues to lead with 32 goals scored, while Mark Stone has made 37 assists.

Head-to-Head

Recent meetings between Vegas and Columbus have seen Vegas come out on top. In the last match that took place on 19th March 2023, Vegas won convincingly with a 7:2 score against Columbus. The overall statistics from the last 5 games show that Vegas won 3 matches, including the last game; however, Columbus also managed two victories. The match on 14th March 2022 ended in Columbus' favour with a score of 6:4, which was one of their notable victories.

Prediction for the match Columbus Blue Jackets - Vegas Golden Knights

Although Columbus is known for being the most Russian NHL team, this has not helped them this season. The Jackets are already out of the playoffs, while it's high time for Vegas to get back in the race for positions in the Western top 4. My bet is on a victory for the guests.