The five-game slate in the NHL scheduled for Friday, March 3, will start with this inter-conference tilt so make sure you take a look at the best Kraken vs. Blue Jackets betting pick and odds.

Seattle will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set when they visit Columbus at Nationwide Arena. The Kraken are -165 moneyline favorites on BookMaker Sportsbook, while the total is set at 6.5 goals. These inter-conference rivals will meet for the second time this year; the Kraken won 3-1 in Seattle.

Kraken snapped a losing streak

The Seattle Kraken (33-21-3-3, 35-25 ATS) responded to a three-game losing skid with a road victory over the St. Louis Blues. It was the opening of a four-game road trip for the Kraken; they will be facing the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday and then the Blue Jackets on Friday before closing the trip against the Avalanche on Sunday. Seattle currently has 72 points and is 7th in the Western Conference with six points behind the leaders Vegas Golden Knights.

The Kraken needed only 26 shots to score five goals in a 5-3 victory over the Blues. Seattle never trailed in this game and deserved to get two points. Eeli Tolvanen was impressive with three assists, while Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong contributed two points apiece. Jordan Eberle is thus far Seattle’s top producer on offense with 47 points (G 13, A 34), followed by Vince Dunn with 44 (G 11, A 33) and Jared McCann with 43 points (G 27, A 16).

Martin Jones (24-10-3) is expected to start at the goal against the Blue Jackets on Friday. The 33-year-old is allowing 2.93 goals per game this season with a .892 SV% and three shutouts.

RW Andre Burakovsky (lower body) and RW Joonas Donskoi (upper body) are out indefinitely and will not play on Friday in Columbus.

Blue Jackets surprised the Sabres in Buffalo

The Columbus Blue Jackets (20-35-5-1, 31-30 ATS) are perhaps the team with the weakest record in the entire NHL, but they played well on a two-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres. After losing to the Wild in overtime, the Blue Jackets beat the Sabres 5-3. Even after this victory, Columbus is ten points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Blue Jackets scored four goals in the opening two periods, and although the Sabres answered with a pair of goals in the final frame, Eric Robinson sealed the victory for Columbus late in the tilt. Robinson had a hat-trick, the first of his career, while Nick Blankenburg and Boone Jenner each recorded two points. This year, Johnny Gaudreau is the only Columbus player among the top 100 in the NHL with 54 points (G 15, A 39).

Elvis Merzlikins (7-15-2) is going to take his place in the cage against the Kraken on Friday. The 28-year-old is conceding 4.10 goals per contest with a .879 SV% and no shutouts.

D Zach Werenski (shoulder), D Jake Bean (upper body), and C Justin Danforth (upper body) are out indefinitely and will not feature on Friday against the Kraken.

Trends:

Seattle:

  • 5-1 in the last six vs. a team with a losing record
  • 5-2 in the last seven in the third game of a 3-in-4 situation

Columbus:

  • 3-7 in the last ten home games
  • 6-20 in the last 26 Friday games

Seattle Kraken vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Pick

Even though the Kraken will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set, I am backing the visitors to secure a comfortable victory on Friday. Seattle has a top-10 offense that scores 3.47 goals per game opposite Columbus’ 2.51 goals per contest – the third-worst offense in the NHL. There is also a difference between these teams when it comes to defense; the Blue Jackets have the third-worst D that allows 3.66 gpg opposite Seattle’s 3.15 gpg. Elvis Merzlikins is experiencing the worst season of his career and even though he played well in February (allowed 2.94 gpg on average), I think the Kraken will have no problems scoring multiple goals past him.

Pick: Take the Kraken at -1.5 Puck Line (+145)

The Total

The Kraken haven’t been great on defense lately; they allowed at least three goals in each of their previous four games, which is a chance for the hosts to score 3+ here. Martin Jones managed to keep the opponents below four goals only once in his last six starts. Over is 5-2-1 in the Blue Jackets’ last eight vs. Pacific Division rivals; Over is 4-1-1 in the Kraken’s previous six vs. Eastern Conference opponents, while Over is 3-1-1 in Seattle’s five vs. a team with a losing record.

Pick: Go Over 6.5 goals (-110)