Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Predictions, Odds & Picks

• The Blue Jackets are in a good spot despite trailing series
• Tampa Bay needs to rest up quick
• Don’t Under-estimate the betting trends

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Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Predictions and Picks

Tampa Bay is still missing a very important piece of the puzzle and we feel that that loss of experience in the lineup is going to hurt them in game two. The Blue Jackets will tie this series up with a 3-2 win in game two. Thankfully for all, we predict this game will be won in regulation.

Pick:

Columbus Blue Jackets to win +160

How to Watch Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning

After a marathon first game that took these teams to five overtimes, we’ll find out soon just how much is left in the tank on both sides. In reality, these two teams played more than two games in game one. A regular game is 60 minutes…you get it.

So with that, it’s now a matter of who has enough left for the rest of the sprint. Sure, you can look at youth and agility and who has more of it on their side. The big x-factor here is experience and while the Lightning has more of it, they are still missing a very important veteran stick in their lineup.

Columbus Blue Jackets is Still a Very Dangerous Team

The Columbus Blue Jackets are extremely unwelcome guests in their hub city of Toronto right now. They kicked the Maple Leafs out of playoff contention with their win on Sunday and stole their spot in the postseason. Even though they are now one-game behind Tampa Bay in their series they do still have a pretty chunky ace up their sleeve.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said before their final round-robin series game with Philadelphia that captain Steven Stamkos is still out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. He also just missed game one and is still a question mark for game two.

Without their leader on the ice Columbus has a big leg up. Considering the Bolts registered another 25 shots in their first game as well, the Jackets should have quite a bit more gas in the tank than their opponent.

As we saw in the play-ins against Toronto this is a scary team offensively and as we saw in game one, their goaltending is something else as well. It’s just a matter of time before the Jackets erupt on Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay Needs a Shot in the Arm

Rarely, if ever, has a writer said a team may be bagged or down and out after game one of a best of seven. Considering how deep their first tilt went though, it’s not that far fetched of a comment. Especially, if that team is missing it’s the fearless leader the rest of the way as well.

Tampa Bay needed game one in a bad way to jump out ahead and buy themselves some time as Steven Stamkos rehabs to get back into the lineup. He is working his way back and is close but his timeline hasn’t been mentioned all too often.

His arrival back would mean fresh legs, relatively anyhow, for a team that just played a heck of a lot of hockey to go up 1-0. At the end of the day, when he’s back the Bolts are a different team. We’re likely not talking about the Blue Jackets like we were towards the end of last year’s first-round sweep. With Stamkos back, we’re talking about a deep Tampa Bay run. His comeback is essential to any potential Bolt success in these playoffs.

A Closer Look at the Betting Trends

The total has gone Under in seven of Columbus’ last nine and in five of Tampa Bay’s last six games. These two teams also went Under in game one of this series on Tuesday by not hitting the set mark of 5.5 goals.