Blue Jackets vs. Penguins Game 2 Pick
Can the Pittsburgh Penguins avoid a letdown tonight when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 2 of their series at 7PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Penguins are favored to win tonight, as they are getting odds of -165 to win, while the Blue Jackets are getting a money line of +145. The over/under total for the game is listed at 5.5 goals.
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Pittsburgh won the first game of the series on Wednesday, 3-1. The Penguins have won three of five meetings with the Blue Jackets this season. Pittsburgh is 51-21-11 on the season and 32-6-4 at home following the win in Game 1 while the Blue Jackets are now 50-25-8 overall and 22-13-7 on the road.
The Blue Jackets were the more physical team in Game 1, racking up 49 hits on Pittsburgh, but Columbus couldn’t find the net often on their 32 shots. Marc Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots in the win for the Penguins before giving up a late goal to Matt Calvert. Pittsburgh used a dominant second period to win the game, as it out-shot Columbus 16-4 and scored three goals. Bryan Rust, Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino each found the net in the win.
Bet on Blue Jackets vs. Penguins
Columbus was the better team in Game 1 for two of the three periods, but still couldn’t find a way to win. Pittsburgh showed what it can do against the Blue Jackets in the second period and that is what I would expect more of in Game 2. Pittsburgh isn’t going to have a lot of off days at home and they know they can’t start slow like they did in Game 1.
NHL PLAYOFFS PREDICTION: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS -165