PREMIUM
*10* GAME OF THE YEAR (NHL) >> Rogers 2017 TOP NHL PLAY!
(NHL) Nashville vs. Columbus,
Money Line: -156.00 Columbus (Home)
Result: Loss
Money Line: -156.00 Columbus (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 27-22-8 Nashville Predators returned from their five-day break and came out flat, losing 5-2 at Minnesota. Nashville stays on the road and will play again tonight, when it visits the 37-15-5 Columbus Blue Jackets, who hope to make it three wins in a row, before taking their five-day break.
Nashville: Last night's loss was Nashville third straight on the road and overall, its fourth loss in six games. The Predators will play three games in four nights and need to play better. "It's that time of the year where these points are important," Nashville center Vernon Fiddler told the team's official website. "If you get the two points, you have to put it in the bank and move on to the next one and get those two points. With the loss, you've got to do the same thing. You can't lose two in a row, and we lost this one, but we've got to get back on the horse and get back at it tomorrow." Pekka Rinne will be in goal tonight and he has alternated losses and wins in his last seven starts. He's 8-10-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average on the road and owns a 5-7-0 record in Columbus over his career.
Columbus: The Blue Jackets are in the middle of a seven-game homestand, moving to 3-2-0 with a 2-1 OT victory over the Penguins on Friday. That win moved Columbus within one points of Pittsburgh for second-place in the Metropolitan Division (the NHL's most-competitive). Brandon Dubinsky had the game-winner on Friday and told the Blue Jackets' official website, "We're starting to play the right way consistently. We talked about this all year. It's a long season, and we went through a period where we weren't playing our best hockey. I think we're back to playing the way we want to and we're getting results because of it."
The pick: Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has turned away 114 of 122 (a .934 save percentage) in his last four games but is just 2-2-0 in that span. He stopped all 39 shots he saw in his last home start against Nashville back in November 2015, in a 4-0 win. The Blue Jackets won't play again until next Saturday and my bet is that they take a break off a win. Columbus is a 10* play.
Nashville: Last night's loss was Nashville third straight on the road and overall, its fourth loss in six games. The Predators will play three games in four nights and need to play better. "It's that time of the year where these points are important," Nashville center Vernon Fiddler told the team's official website. "If you get the two points, you have to put it in the bank and move on to the next one and get those two points. With the loss, you've got to do the same thing. You can't lose two in a row, and we lost this one, but we've got to get back on the horse and get back at it tomorrow." Pekka Rinne will be in goal tonight and he has alternated losses and wins in his last seven starts. He's 8-10-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average on the road and owns a 5-7-0 record in Columbus over his career.
Columbus: The Blue Jackets are in the middle of a seven-game homestand, moving to 3-2-0 with a 2-1 OT victory over the Penguins on Friday. That win moved Columbus within one points of Pittsburgh for second-place in the Metropolitan Division (the NHL's most-competitive). Brandon Dubinsky had the game-winner on Friday and told the Blue Jackets' official website, "We're starting to play the right way consistently. We talked about this all year. It's a long season, and we went through a period where we weren't playing our best hockey. I think we're back to playing the way we want to and we're getting results because of it."
The pick: Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has turned away 114 of 122 (a .934 save percentage) in his last four games but is just 2-2-0 in that span. He stopped all 39 shots he saw in his last home start against Nashville back in November 2015, in a 4-0 win. The Blue Jackets won't play again until next Saturday and my bet is that they take a break off a win. Columbus is a 10* play.
