New York Islanders vs. Columbus Blue Jackets November 25 Betting Preview

Welcome back from Thanksgiving (we hope it was terrific) to Columbus Blue Jackets hockey. The Blue Jackets finish a six-game home stand against the New York Islanders.

CBJ and the Islanders have played once already this year, with the Islanders getting a 4-3 win in overtime on November 12th. The Blue Jackets will be looking to win their fourth game in their last six at home before heading to Nashville tomorrow.

Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Preview

We thought the Columbus Blue Jackets would defeat the Montreal Canadiens on Thanksgiving eve. We were wrong, as the Blue Jackets lost to the Canadiens 3-1. This loss dropped Columbus' record to 7-11-1. Mathieu Olivier scored CBJ's only goal, while Joonas Korpisalo made twenty-six saves in the loss.

With Elvis Merzlikins on the Blue Jackets' extensive injured reserve list and back-to-back games, we expect both goalies to get a start over the next two games. Looking at the goaltending rotation and upcoming schedule, we expect Daniil Tarasov to get the start against the Islanders. Tarasov has a 2-3-0 record, a 3.46 goals-against average, and a .901 save percentage.

If the Blue Jackets start Korpisalo against the Islanders, he has a 3-3-1 record, a 3.85 goals-against average, and a .901 save percentage.

We know the Blue Jackets will sometimes struggle to score, and their team stats reflect this and their up-and-down season so far. CBJ is averaging 2.95 goals per game on 30.0 shots while giving up 4.26 goals against on 36.9 shots.

The powerplay is up to six goals and converting on 13% of their opportunities, while the penalty kill has given up 12 powerplay goals for a 77.8% penalty kill efficiency.

New York Islanders Betting Preview

The New York Islanders are a veteran crew hoping to make another deep run into the playoffs. The Islanders enter Friday night's matchup with a 13-8-0 record. The Islanders have won their last two games and - much like CBJ - three of their previous five games. Two of their last five games have surpassed either a one-goal spread or a total goals line of 6.5.

In their last game, the Islanders shut out the Edmonton Oilers 3-0. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored twice - scoring once on the penalty kill and once on the powerplay - with the other coming from Sebastian Aho. Ilya Sorokin made 49 saves to get the win.

Sorokin has started the last two games, and with the Islanders playing on back-to-back nights as well, we think this could be a battle of the backups in Ohio. We think the Islanders will start Semyon Varlamov on Friday night. Varlamov has a 4-3-0 record, a 2.97 goals-against average, and a .914 save percentage.

If Soroking gets his third start in a row, he has a 9-5-0 record, a 2.20 goals-against average, and a .934 save percentage.

The Islanders' team stats are those of a competitive and playoff-destined team. The Islanders are averaging 3.29 goals per game on 31.8 shots per game and 2.62 goals against on 33.5 shots.

New York's special teams are good enough to cause problems: the powerplay has scored thirteen goals and converting on 21.3% of their chances, while the penalty killers have killed off 84.1% of the Islanders' penalties, giving up eleven powerplay goals in the process.

Blue Jackets vs. Islanders Odds and Predictions

The New York Islanders are the moneyline favorite listed at (-176) odds, while the Blue Jackets are the underdog at (+145). The Islanders are listed at -1.5 on the puck line spread, with (+143) odds, while the Blue Jackets are listed at +1.5 with (-173) odds, as mentioned. CBJ has an 8-11 record against the spread, while the Islanders are 14-7 against the spread.

We like to be honest in our betting previews. We think the Blue Jackets are in for a tough night against the New York Islanders. Frankly, the Islanders are a better hockey team across the lineup and should win this game, so we're taking the Islanders to win on the moneyline.

However, if CBJ is going to win, they'll likely have a great night offensively at hit the over, as the Blue Jackets have hit the over in their last three victories, while the Islanders have lost their previous two games where the score hit the over. If you want to make a pick on the Blue Jackets, we'd take the over or consider CBJ on the spread. However, we lean towards taking the over.

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