Blackhawks at Blue Jackets Betting Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets return to the ice on Monday night for another matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the Blackhawks that won the meeting on Saturday night, coming away with a 4-3 victory.

Chicago is trying to play its way back into the playoff race, and there is still some time to get that done. The Blackhawks come into this game with 43 points on the year, just two back of Nashville for the final playoff spot.

The Blue Jackets are heading in the wrong direction, having lost five of their last six games. Columbus has managed to pick up just 38 points on the year, and they are now in 7th place in the Central Division.

The Blue Jackets are slight underdogs at home on Monday night as the Blackhawks are -120 to win again in Columbus.

Blackhawks Have Offensive Weapons

The Chicago Blackhawks are averaging just 2.76 goals per game, but they have the ability to be much more explosive than that. Chicago scored four unanswered goals in the win on Saturday night, and they are a dangerous team on the power play.

Patrick Kane leads the way with 38 assists and 52 points, and he has been known to be a problem for the Blue Jackets. Alex DeBrincat lit the lamp on Saturday, and he leads Chicago with 21 goals on the year.

Chicago will give up some goals as they have allowed 3.1 goals against this season. Columbus is not a team that scores a ton of goals, and that is why Chicago has gotten the better of the Blue Jackets this season.

Columbus Just Can’t Get Momentum

The Blue Jackets are scoring just 2.49 goals per game while allowing more than 3.2 goals per night. This has made it really hard for the team to pick up any momentum, and it now appears that the team has given up.

Oliver Bjorkstrand is doing all that he can to keep this team afloat, leading the way with 14 goals and 32 points. The Blue Jackets have been bad on special teams this season, and they struggle to take advantage of bad penalties for opponents.

Columbus has given up at least three goals in six of its last seven games, and this is not a team that is built to play from behind. The Blue Jackets need to control the pace on Monday night, and they also need to strike first.

Time Running Out For Blue Jackets

Columbus has not yet been eliminated from playoff contention, but it definitely feels that way. The Blue Jackets are playing some of their worst hockey and one of the most important stretches of the season.

Columbus jumped out to a huge lead on Saturday night against Chicago, but then they just completely fell apart. The Blue Jackets need a much more complete effort on Monday night if they are going to turn this season around.

Chicago is not one of the most dominant teams in the league, and it will give Columbus some chances. It’s up to the Blue Jackets to take advantage of the opportunity, or this will be another lost season.