NHL Picks: Columbus Blue Jackets& Edmonton Oilers to go 'Over'

The Columbus Blue Jackets have the worst record in the NHL but you might call them hot considering how the Edmonton Oilers are playing these days. That being said, who has the upper hand tonight as the two square off.

The Blue Jackets are 4-3-0 in their last seven but the Oilers have just three wins in their last 11 games. 

The good news is that they should have a decent opportunity to turn things around with the Blue Jackets visiting as they are in a back-to-back situation on the road after playing in Calgary last night. 

Friday, December 2^nd

NHL odds makers opened with the Oilers as the -155 fvorites, but currently most hockey betting sites have lowered the number to -145. Sportsbooks have held the game's total at a steady 5.5.

The Columbus Blue Jackets can win because… 

The Oilers have lost their way. Everything that worked so well for them in October is failing them in November with goaltending being the key culprit. 

Nikolai was 5-0-2 in October with a 1.12 GAA and a .960 save percentage in October. Those numbers have dipped to 4-5-1, 2.54 and .918 in November. As for Devan Dubnyk, his GAA dropped from 1.98 to 3.67 and his save percentage declined from .938 to .865 month over month. 

The Blue Jackets aren’t exactly setting the world on fire themselves, but in their four latest wins they have been lighting the lamp consistently. In those outtings, the Blue Jackets have scored at least four goals each time.

They’re also getting stellar netminding from Curtis Sanford, who has now taken over the No.1 job from Steve Mason. He’s been outstanding (in comparison to Mason) as he has posted a record of 4-2-2 and a 1.61 GAA. Sanford has not allowed more than three goals in any start this season and has an excellent .941 save percentage. 

The Oilers have scored just five goals in their last three games and they could be find the going tough once again if Sanford is in net. 

The Edmonton Oilers can win because… 

The Blue Jackets are bad on the road and they played on the road last night in Calgary. 

No team in the NHL has a worse road record than the Blue Jackets, who are 2-8-2 away from home. They didn’t even get their first road win of the season until November 19^th in Nashville and their second came last night in Calgary. 

The Oilers are slumping, but they are still 7-3-2 at home and that’s respectable. They can beat a team like Columbus in their own confines. 

Edmonton is slumping but let’s be fair about it: they are coming off a stretch where they played 12 games in 10 different cities in 24 days. That would be tough on any team in the NHL. They are in the midst of four games in six nights at home and Thursday’s day off was critical for a fatigued Oilers squad. 

They are getting healthy on the blue line as that has been another issue holding them back. Ryan Whitney and Andy Sutton are back, and part of the Oilers struggles in net have come because the men in front weren’t doing their job. Now that they are getting healthy, they should be able to tighten things up defensively. 

Outlook & NHL Betting Prediction: 

This is a tough spot to back the Oilers with your NHL picks. Common sense suggests they win this game but there is no way you can lay -155 with them given how much they are slumping. The Blue Jackets have a little bit of pep in their step given how Sanford has played and given that they earned an exciting win on Thursday night. 

If you like the value, take the Blue Jackets but consider the over as well. The Oilers netminders have been struggling while the Blue Jackets could be a little loose playing in a back-to-back situation. The last four meetings in Edmonton have gone over as have six of the last eight meetings overall.