Arizona Coyotes - Columbus Blue Jackets predictions and free betting tips [27/03/2024]

The Arizona Coyotes will face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the regular NHL championship.

Arizona Coyotes

With a record of 29-37 and 63 points, the Arizona Coyotes have had mixed success in recent games, claiming 3 wins out of 5, but they remain out of the playoffs, trailing by 22 points from Vegas in eighth place. Clayton Keller is a standout in their ranks, scoring his 30th goal of the season against the Dallas Stars in a game that ended with a 2:4 score. Keller has been in impressive form, earning 10 points in his last 9 games, including 8 goals and two assists, and scoring in each of the last 5 games, marking the best scoring run of his career.

In their last match against Dallas, Arizona suffered a 2:4 defeat, the only bright spot besides Keller's goal being a score from Nick Bjugstad. This defeat from Dallas followed wins over the Seattle Kraken and New Jersey Devils, where the team demonstrated its ability to compete and secure victories. The Arizona Coyotes average 2.88 goals per game and utilise 21.7% of their power play chances, while their defence allows 3.3 goals. Notable in the lineup is Matias Maccelli with 35 assists.

Columbus Blue Jackets

With a four-loss streak and a 1-7 record in their last 8 games, the Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to find a way to recover from defeats to the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. In these games, lost with scores of 1:6 and 2:4, Columbus showed a weakness in execution, despite a significant number of shots - the most and fourth most of the season respectively. With an overall record of 23-36 and 58 points, the team is last in the East, with goaltenders Daniil Tarasov and Elvis Merzlikins rotating in an attempt to improve defensive stats.

In recent games, the Blue Jackets have demonstrated an ability to resist, but couldn't maintain the lead. For instance, in the match against Vegas, despite leading after the first period, the team couldn't hold the advantage. Goaltender Daniil Tarasov stood out, blocking 43 of 47 opponent shots, but the team couldn't break through Vegas' defence. The Blue Jackets' average season stats point to their struggle: the team scores an average of 2.86 goals per game with a power play percentage of 14.3%, but they allow an average of 3.63 goals per game. Team leaders, such as Boone Jenner, Johnny Gaudreau, and Kirill Marchenko, are working to improve these stats. Speaking about Russian players:

Ivan Provorov, in 71 matches, scored 5 goals and made 24 assists, totalling 29 points. Dmitri Voronkov, in 65 games, scored 17 goals and made 14 assists, totalling 31 points. Kirill Marchenko played 67 matches, scoring 18 goals and making 16 assists, totalling 34 points. Egor Chinakhov, who is currently injured, played 53 games, scoring 16 goals and making 13 assists, totalling 29 points.

Head-to-Head

In the first encounter of the season on November 17, the Coyotes won with a score of 3:2 in Columbus. In the last 5 encounters, Arizona has had 3 consecutive wins, preceded by 2 victories for Columbus.

Match prediction: Arizona Coyotes - Columbus Blue Jackets

With both teams lacking the motivation to fight for the playoffs and both having less than stellar defenses, but with plenty of performers on the offensive side, I'm expecting a total of over 5.5 goals.