Laine, Dubois in Spotlight
There is a natural storyline whenever the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets meet thanks to the huge deal in January 2021 that sent Patrik Laine to Columbus and Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg.
Laine leads the Jets with 25 goals and is tied for the team lead with 48 points despite missing 19 games, while Dubois is fourth on the Jets with 49 points and second with 25 goals. This will be Laine’s first game against his former team
Wonder why Columbus is 13 points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference? A 14-16-0 record on the road is a major reason. The Blue Jackets are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing 3.83 goals per game. The Blue Jackets have improved on the road, going 9-6 away from home since Jan. 1.
With both teams currently out of playoff position, they are well back in the odds to win the Stanley Cup. Winnipeg comes in at +12500 while the odds for Columbus are +50000.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and NHL odds for Blue Jackets vs Jets. We’ve plenty of predictions for you to consider.
Boqvist Could Return for Blue Jackets
Former first-round pick Adam Boqvist was one of the pivotal pieces in the trade that sent defenseman Seth Jones to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Boqvist showed why Columbus wanted the 21-year-old defenseman in the deal as he is tied with Zach Werenski for the team lead among defensemen with 10 goals. The number could probably be much higher if he hadn’t missed nearly due to an upper-body injury.
Boqvist is probable to play against Winnipeg and if he does take the ice, it would be his first game since Feb. 27.
TRANSACTION: #CBJ have activated defenseman Adam Boqvist off Injured Reserve.https://t.co/3o5jVtTx7Z
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) March 24, 2022
Columbus will still be without forwards Boone Jenner and Alexandre Texier. Jenner, who is second on the team with 23 goals, is considered week-to-week with a back injury. He last played on March 11.
A finger injury has sidelined Texier, who not too long ago was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons. Texier was in the midst of his best season at the NHL level with 11 goals and nine assists in 36 games, but he hasn’t played since late January.
Five of the last six Columbus games against teams from the Western Conference have gone over the NHL betting lines total.
Jets Look to Rebound
Managing 24 shots against one of the worst road teams in the NHL is not the best way to make a run at a playoff spot.
The Winnipeg Jets allowed four straight goals after Josh Morrissey gave Winnipeg the early lead.
The Ottawa Senators scored three times in a span of 3:15 as the Jets opened a back-to-back set with an uninspired effort in a 5-2 loss.
Winnipeg had won four of its previous five games and scored 19 goals to close the gap on the teams ahead of them in the Western Conference. A win on Thursday would have put the Jets just three points out of a playoff spot. However, the loss to the Senators leaves the Jets in sixth place in the Central Division and five points out of a playoff spot.
Winnipeg is tied for third in the NHL with an average of four goals per game in March and will need that offense to be more dangerous and opportunistic than it was the last time out.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in 10 of Winnipeg’s last 14 games.
Blue Jackets vs Jets Head-to-Head
Columbus has won the last two games against Winnipeg, including a 3-0 home victory on Nov. 24. Five of the previous seven matchups were decided by one goal while four straight games between the teams had a combined seven goals scored.
The home team has won five of the last six meetings. A total of 39 goals have been scored in the five contests between the Blue Jackets and Jets that were played in Winnipeg.
Blue Jackets vs Jets Game Information
- Game: Blue Jackets (32-29-3) at Jets (30-25-10)
- Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg
- Day/Time: Friday, 8 p.m. ET
- Live stream: NHL.TV
Blue Jackets vs Jets Betting Lines
Blue Jackets vs Jets Prediction
Winnipeg is 25th in the NHL on the penalty kill in the month of March, killing off just 73.5 percent of the opposing team’s power play. The good news is that Columbus is just 13th in the NHL in power-play success rate in the month.
Only eight teams in the NHL are averaging more than seven combined goals per game in the month of March and two of them will be taking the ice in Winnipeg, so going with the over might not be the worst move for those who bet online