San Jose Sharks vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction NHL Picks 3/16/24

Columbus Blue Jackets (22-33-11) vs San Jose Sharks (16-42-7)

Game Info: Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 7:00 pm (Nationwide Arena)

Betting Odds: Columbus Blue Jackets -175 / San Jose Sharks +141 --- Over/Under: 6.5

The San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets meet Saturday in NHL action from the Nationwide Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a San Jose Sharks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets prediction.

San Jose Sharks Team Preview

The San Jose Sharks will look to rebound from a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh last time out. Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks in scoring with 42 points including a team-high 33 assists while William Eklund has 30 points with 20 assists and Fabian Zetterlund has 31 points with a team-high 17 goals. MacKenzie Blackwood’s gone 9-18-3 between the pipes for the Sharks this season, posting a 3.48 GAA and an .899 save percentage while Magnus Chrona is 1-4-1 with a 4.43 GAA and an .872 save percentage this season.

San Jose Sharks Team Facts

• The Sharks have lost each of their last 10 night games.
• The Sharks have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight night games following a road loss.
• The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 2' market has hit in each of the Sharks' last nine games.
• The Sharks have lost the third period in each of their last six night games.

Columbus Blue Jackets Team Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets come into this one looking to rebound from a 3-2 shootout loss to Ottawa for their third straight defeat. Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets with 47 points including 37 assists while Zach Werenski has 39 points with a team-high 35 assists. Kirill Marchenko has 32 points with a team-high 17 goals and Dmitrii Voronkov has 31 points with 17 goals and 14 assists. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 12-14-8 in goal for Columbus with a 3.25 GAA and a .903 save percentage while Daniil Tarasov is 6-9-2 with a 3.23 GAA and a .903 save percentage this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Team Facts

• The underdogs have won seven of the last eight games between the Sharks and Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
• The Blue Jackets have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last eight games as favorites following a shootout loss.
• The Blue Jackets have won the first period in each of their last five games as favorites after coming off overtime.
• The 'Over 2.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in each of the Blue Jackets' last four home games against Pacific Division opponents.

Sharks vs. Blue Jackets Prediction

I’m on the Sharks here. I’m just not up to laying this kind of price with the Blue Jackets, even with San Jose on the road. The Sharks are a mess without question, but they’ve been competitive in some spots as of late and the Blue Jackets have been playing close games as well even in a losing effort. I think this could be a close game as well, perhaps a one-goal game whichever way you slice it. There’s much better places to have your money on Saturday’s board, but if forced to pick, I’ll take a shot on the Sharks +1.5 here.

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