Blue Jackets vs. Ducks Odds
| Blue Jackets Odds | -110 |
| Ducks Odds | -110 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 -120 / +100 |
Here's everything you need to know about the Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, February 21 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
Blue Jackets and Ducks fans are both likely at the point of cheering for losses this season, particularly tonight with these teams positioning for a top draft pick. However, the top stars from these teams won't view it that way, and will surely do their best to be productive in a soft matchup.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The task for coach Pascal Vincent the rest of the way will be to offer a more stable environment to the teams important pieces moving forwards, and not stall development at the NHL level. Jarmo Kekalainen was fired from his role as GM on Feb. 15, and that was certainly a fair decision given a number of his recent moves.
Pascal Vincent fell into a tough situation when Mike Babcock was let go before the season even started. On top of that, Kekalainen made some moves that really don't make any sense, which would have forced any coach into tough decisions in terms of usage. Veterans like Erik Gudbranson, Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson blocked a path for David Jiricek at the NHL level this season, which is somewhat of a disaster in itself.
Vincent has struggled to find consistent roles for his young offensive talents, though he is in a tough situation. The Blue Jackets have a lot of offensive pieces who ideally will be suited to a top-six role moving forward, but are not quite there yet. Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson, Yegor Chinakhov and Dmitri Voronkov have all been shuffled all over the lineup too often.
You can't forget about the Blue Jackets' highest-paid player either. Johnny Gaudreau, who still has five more years after this season with a $9.75 million cap hit, has 37 points in 54 games and has been a clear disappointment. Seeing him find his offensive form the rest of the way would be a big boost in a tough year.
Gaudreau has shown more effective of late skating at even strength with Jack Roslovic and Boone Jenner, both of whom missed significant time this season. The trio has played to a 53.3% expected goal share at even strength, and generated 3.52 xGF/60.
Gaudreau has put up eight assists in his last seven games but hasn't scored since Dec. 29 versus Toronto. In the 17 games since, he's poured 35 shots on goal, and you can only imagine the frustration to see two markers come off the board in the opening two games of this road trip upon review.
Daniil Tarasov will likely get this start for the Blue Jackets. He has played to a -9.6 GSAx and .877 save % across 11 appearances.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks can thank their top line of Frank Vatrano, Troy Terry and Mason McTavish and goaltender John Gibson for one of the uglier wins we will see the last time out in Buffalo.
Coach Greg Cronin's biggest task this season was to help clean up the horrid defensive habits his young side displayed last season under Dallas Eakins. Over the last 15 games, the Ducks have played to a seventh-worst xGA/60 of 3.51. Still, it's drastically better than the comically soft defensive play they displayed last season.
It's unclear whether the Ducks will hand this start to John Gibson or Lukas Dostal, so keep your eye out for confirmations. Gibson has played to a +4.2 GSAx and .900 save %, while Dostal owns a -4.7 GSAx and .897 save %.
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Blue Jackets vs. Ducks
Betting Pick & Prediction
This has the makings of a fairly loosely contested, high-event game. Both teams are susceptible in the defensive zone, have not defended zone entries well, or broken the puck out effectively. There are a lot of quality players who have strong offensive skill sets playing in this game, but not a lot of skaters known for generating chances with strong defensive play.
Columbus and the over are my leans in terms of a side and a total. Rather than bet those, however, I think this is a good spot to target Gaudreau snapping his scoring slump in an excellent matchup. Playing alongside Jenner and Roslovic has been his best configuration in terms of chance generation, and it has clearly shown throughout the start of this road trip. He's had a disallowed goal in each of the last two games, as well as a post versus San Jose.
Compared to earlier in the year, I believe he's actually playing at a respectable level, and his production should rise in the near future. Since the All-Star break, he has averaged four shots on goal per game and 7.5 shot attempts. Those marks don't count shots on disallowed goals or posts, either.
We will likely see Gaudreau press for offense tonight, and I think -114 is a great number to back him recording more than 2.5 shots on goal. He is also priced at +230 to score, which I believe is worth a smaller wager as well.
Picks:Johnny Gaudreau Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-114, FanDuel | Play to -125), Gaudreau ATG +230
