Columbus Blue Jackets vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction, Odds and Picks for Thursday, 01/08/26

The Columbus Blue Jackets make the second stop on a 4-game road trip out west on Thursday. The Jackets opened the journey with a 5-2 loss against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, slipping to just 1-2-1 in the past 4 games. Still, Columbus is playing pretty good hockey lately, going 4-2-1 across the past 7 games. Moreover, 4 of its 6 losses since December 13, including a 3-2 loss at home to Vegas, have been by just a single goal. Goaltender Jet Greaves has seized the No. 1 job from Elvis Merzlikins, and he has run with it, doing a great job in the crease. While Columbus has just 43 points and is in last place in the Metropolitan Division, it is just 12 points out of first place in the entire Eastern Conference. That’s how razor thin things are in the Metro and the East.

The Golden Knights have 48 points, or just 5 more than the last-place Blue Jackets, but they’re in first place in the Pacific Division at 18-11-12. However, they’re also just 3 points clear of the 6th-place Anaheim Ducks. Vegas is favored because the game is at home and because of its name. Columbus has been better lately, going 5-4-1 in the past 10 games, while Vegas is 2-5-3 in the same 10-game span. While CBJ has been pretty good lately, it is coming off a 5-2 loss in San Jose. It cannot be trusted straight up, so take the Jackets as underdogs on the puck line.

Blue Jackets vs Golden Knights prediction: Columbus Blue Jackets +1.5 (-170) available at time of publishing. Playable to -175.

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