Lightning vs Blue Jackets Betting: Lightning Looking to Set Stage Early for 2022-23

Lightning vs Blue Jackets Betting Preview: Most NHL season previews will tell you that this is a mismatch on paper but we don’t give out betting tips before we take a look below the surface.

The Lightning open up as big -175 favorites on the road as they hope to bounce back from an opening night loss to the New York Rangers. Columbus held serve with the Carolina Hurricanes for half the game on opening night, but eventually, the ‘Canes depth was too much as they dropped a 4-1 decision. Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start for Tampa against Elvis Merzlikins for Columbus. Always make sure to follow the morning skate for confirmed netminders.

Lightning Look to Bounce Back after Season-Opening Loss

It took a couple of weeks for Jon Cooper’s teams to realize they started a new season and everyone was coming with their best. The Lightning is on a streak of five straight seasons where they’ve produced a profit for bettors (305-159, +3760 units), but it was close last season with just 103 units won.

Let’s take a closer look at our Lightning vs Blue Jackets betting preview. It was a predictable opening night because we’ve read this script before. The New York Rangers were motivated to impose their will at home against the team that ended their season one season ago. It seemed as if New York didn’t have to crank up the intensity at any point because for one night they were the better team.

The Rangers outshot Tampa 39-26, won 64% of the faceoffs, and even found a shorthanded goal by Mika Zibanejad to open the scoring in the second period. We saw this exact same effort last season when the Lightning was whipped by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-2, to start the defense of their Stanley Cup title.

It took a couple of weeks for Jon Cooper’s teams to realize they started a new season and everyone was coming with their best. The Lightning is on a streak of five straight seasons where they’ve produced a profit for bettors (305-159, +3760 units), but it was close last season with just 103 units won.

Jackets Already Dealing With Major Injury

Not only were the Jackets delivered a 4-1 loss on opening night, but former 40-goal scorer Laine had to leave the game with an upper-body injury, which looked like an injury to his right arm after a collision with Brett Pesce. The only offense the Jackets could muster all night was now getting looked at by the trainer. He did receive an x-ray but there was no further update according to head coach Brad Larsen.

We can confirm that Laine was not at practice Thursday. This was in addition to goaltender Elvis Merzlikins battling an illness that forced Danil Tarasov to start against Carolina. The 28-year-old was back at practice Thursday and is expected to start Friday.

The Jackets finished 37-45 for the betting public last season but that was good enough to show 91 units of profit. It was their first profitable season since the 2018-19 season. That money was made on the back of their home performance that saw the Jackets produce 512 units at Nationwide Arena.

Good Spot to Implement Plus Money Betting Technique

You can’t do this with every wager but when breaking down this Lightning vs Blue Jackets betting match-up this seems like a good spot. If you’re not familiar with the plus money technique it goes like this. We’re going to put 100 units on the Jackets (+155) and the Lightning -1.5 (+145).

The positive is that either of these hit bettors is guaranteed to profit. The only way you can lose two bets is if the Lightning win by a goal, which is where the handicapping aspect comes in. You must identify a match-up where both teams are not that close on paper. Columbus has a fair chance to win outright but you can easily envision a big Lightning win, making it the perfect game to implement our plus-money wagers. Stay with us all season long for the best NHL betting tips.

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