Winnipeg Jets vs. Columbus Blue Jackets: NHL Picks

Bad meets worse when the Columbus Blue Jackets host the struggling Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night at the Nationwide Arena.

If you think things have been going badly for Winnipeg check out how badly things are turning out for the Blue Jackets. The Jets premiere season in the NHL is looking like a tough one, as after 16 games they have only managed five wins with eight losses. They’re bottom of the South East on 13 points, hardly flying high.

The Blue Jackets, however, can only look on such a bad run of form with envy, as after 15 games they've recorded two wins and 12 losses. Columbus are sat dead last in the NHL with just five points. It's an all or nothing game tonight as they will be just one meeting between these two teams this season.

The (last ten) form favours the Jets, who are 4-4-2 compared to Columbus who are 2-8-0. If you bet hard you can make a semi-decent return as the sportsbooks have an away win at +162 and a home win is at +125. If you think this game is going to be too close to call you can get a very decent return as the draw is offered up at +300 on the NHL Odds boards.

New name / Old Shame

Although the Winnipeg Jets are technically a new team, their previous incarnation: the Atlanta Thrashers had a very poor record against the Blue Jackets. The Jackets had won five in a row against the Thrashers including three shutouts dating all the way back to the 2005-06 season and they are  8-5-0 overall.

More recently, it’s telling that Columbus has been outscored 19-6 in their three-game losing streak. Still the Jets have lost four in a row and have conceded 17 goals while scoring nine in that skid. It is a slightly sticky run, as two of those games (against the Devils and the Sabres) Winnipeg only lost by a single goal. However between those two close calls they were shut out 0-3 by the New York Rangers.

In their last game, they were beaten by another three-goal margin by the Panthers. For the sake of parity, let’s take a look at the Blue Jackets’ last four games, of which they have won just the one. Columbus have scored nine goals but have conceded a whopping 20. Their only victory from this quartet was a 3-1 win over Anaheim, but they went down 6-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game.

Does a leaky defence equal goals galore?

It has to be mentioned that the Blue Jackets have the league's worst penalty kill at 71.2%, and it seems that every time there is an opportunity the opposition takes a goal. “Any mistake we make, it just ends up in the back of the net,” said Blue Jacket defenceman James Wisniewski.

The more you investigate Columbus' form the worse things get. The Jackets have scored just once in their last three games when they haven't been four or more goals behind, this does not bode well for a home win.

With two “less than good” teams colliding I'm tempted to say that neither side can afford a bad performance or a bad result, and with two teams who seem to be evenly matched we could be in for an impressive night of hockey. The way that Columbus concede goals makes me think this could well go over 5.5 goals, and NHL betting outlets seem to agree with me as they have Over 5.5  goals at -135 while the game ending Under 5.5 is offered up at +115.

The bookies also seem to think that the second period will be the busiest at +150 while they have the third period being the highest scoring at +160. You could be in for a nice fat return if you invest your NHL picks in the first period (being the biggest scoring) if the teams come out and hit the ice running, that's on offer at approximately +225.

Last among equals.

The Blue Jackets will be looking to avoid a fourth consecutive loss while the Jets will be looking to stop their own skid of four straight defeats. A quick look into my crystal ball sees a coin being tossed and coming down on a Winnipeg win.