Columbus Blue Jackets vs Chicago Blackhawks Prediction NHL Picks 3/2/24

Chicago Blackhawks (15-40-5) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (19-30-10)

Game Info: Saturday, March 2, 2024 at 8:00 pm (United Center)

Betting Odds: Chicago Blackhawks -116 / Columbus Blue Jackets -106 --- Over/Under: 6

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Chicago Blackhawks meet in NHL action from the United Center on Saturday night. Who comes out on top in Saturday’s inter-conference matchup? Let’s dive in and find out with our Blue Jackets vs. Blackhawks Prediction.

Columbus Blue Jackets Team Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets come into this one looking to rebound from back-to-back losses after a 4-2 loss to Carolina last time out. Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets with 42 points including 34 assists while Zach Werenski has 34 points with a team-high 30 assists. Kirill Marchenko has 31 points with a team-high 17 goals and Dmitrii Voronkov has 30 points with 16 goals and 14 assists. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 11-13-7 in goal for Columbus with a 3.29 GAA and a .903 save percentage while Daniil Tarasov is 4-8-2 with a 3.62 GAA and an .888 save percentage this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Team Facts

• The Blue Jackets have lost four of their last six games as favorites.
• The underdogs have covered the puck line in six of the Blue Jackets' last seven games at United Center.
• The Blue Jackets have lost the second period in each of their last three games at United Center following a home loss.
• The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in each of the Blue Jackets' last six games as favorites against Central Division opponents.

Chicago Blackhawks Team Preview

The Chicago Blackhawks come into this one looking to snap a five-game losing streak after a 5-0 loss to Colorado last time out. Connor Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 40 points including 17 goals along with 23 assists while Philipp Kurashev has 32 points with 9 goals and a team-high 23 assists. Jason Dickinson has 28 points with 17 goals and 11 assists and Nick Foligno also has 27 points with 14 goals and 13 assists. Petr Mrazek has gone 13-23-4 with a 3.04 GAA and an .908 save percentage in goal for the Blackhawks while Arvid Soderblom is 2-17-1 with a 3.97 GAA and an .877 save percentage this season.

Chicago Blackhawks Team Facts

• The Blackhawks have lost each of their last 13 night games.
• The underdogs have covered the puck line in six of the last seven games between the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks at United Center.
• The Blackhawks have lost the first period in each of their last six night games following a home loss.
• The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in each of the last seven games between the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks.

Blue Jackets vs. Blackhawks Prediction

I’m on the under here. Not because I trust either team defensively, but because I don’t trust either offense to be capable enough to find the back of the net with regularity. The Blue Jackets have been one of the NHL’s worst teams on the road and they’ve scored 2 goals or less in 4 of their last 6 games. Chicago’s lost 5 straight and averaged 1.6 goals per game in that skid. This feels like an ugly 2-1 kind of game to me so give me the under here.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.