Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon Sport
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Both teams are in terrible form
The Columbus Blue Jackets are hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins today at Nationwide Arena.
Can the Penguins recover?
The Pittsburgh Penguins are 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-9-3 record, including 3-5-2 on the road. They have lost 4 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Penguins are 22nd in the league scoring 2.72 goals per game and are ranked second-to-last allowing 3.83. Eveni Malkin is the best player on the team with 18 points so far in the season.
Blue Jays have the longest active losing streak in the league
The Columbus Blue Jackets are 15th in the Western Conference with a 5-8-2 record, including 4-3-0 at home. They have lost the last six games and are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken. The Blue Jackers are 16th in the league scoring 3.07 goals per game and are ranked 29th allowing 3.60. Kirill Marchenko leads the team with 15 points so far in the season.
Betting Trends
The Blue Jackets are 0-6 SU in their last 6 games overall, 6-13 SU in their last 19 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and 6-13 SU in their last 19 games against teams from the Metropolitan Division. Columbus has played over the total point line in 10 of their last 14 games overall, 6 of their last 9 games against the Penguins, 7 of their last 9 home games and 10 of their last 13 home games against Pittsburgh. The Penguins are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games overall, 11-2 SU in their last 13 games against the Blue Jackets, 1-6 SU in their last 7 games on the road and 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh has played under the total goal line in 5 of their last 7 games overall and 5 of their last 6 games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Columbus Blue Jackets are struggling big time after a month into the season, and the way they play, there are not many reasons to be optimistic about it. The Blue Jackets are back home from a five-game road trip where they lost all the games. After hosting the Penguins, they are off to another two games on the road. The schedule is not the only reason for their difficulties lately, as the team simply does not play well. Neither team can rely on their defense this season, and both of them are looking at this game as a chance to win. Given that, this will be a scoring spree that will go over 6.5 goals in total, just like two of their previous three head-to-head matchups.
