The struggling Blue Jackets are only slight favorites in the battle of two low-ranked teams.
Another disappointing season ahead
The Columbus Blue Jackets lie dead last in the Eastern Conference with a horrendous 4-11-4 record. Compared to last season, it’s déjà vu all over again. The Blue Jackets are practically out of all playoff speculations before Thanksgiving.
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This team is struggling heavily on all fronts. Perhaps the most severe problems are on offense. Columbus has scored 2.68 goals per game, good for 27th in the league. Defensemen Ivan Provorov and Zach Werenski occupy two of the team’s top three scoring places with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Damon Severson, another central piece of their defense, was forced to leave Monday’s game against Philadelphia with an upper-body injury. Severson is out indefinitely, and Columbus will probably share more details on his situation later this week.
Bedard answering the call
Chicago’s early season has been pretty much what I expected. The team is competitive every time Connor Bedard (who has 15 points already) puts on a show, or on those nights when they get elite goaltending from Petr Mrazek.
However, the big picture tells the truth about Chicago’s roster. Expected goal stats between 41 and 42 percent simply won’t cut it. The Blackhawks have a 2.50 goals-per-game average that is second to last in the league. I’m expecting more especially from Taylor Hall, who has had a slow start to this campaign partly due to injury woes.
Betting small for Chicago
This is a match between two bad teams that won’t make the playoffs this season. Matchups like this simply don’t have a big favorite, since neither team excels at consistent high-quality play. Missing Severson from the home side diminishes Columbus’ edge even further.
The Blackhawks are +118 underdogs on Unibet. My estimation is closer to a coin flip, so we have a thin value bet in Chicago’s win. Two units is plenty enough this time around.
Tip: Chicago Blackhawks Moneyline @ +118
Units: 2/10
The match will start on 11/22/2023 at 7:00 PM EST.
The odds are from the time of publication of the article and are subject to change.
Esa Kostet
X: @konekostet
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Register and Bet $25 on any match (min odds +100). Win or lose, you’ll get $100 in bonus bets!
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