Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 01/24/26

Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets enter this matchup playing great hockey. The Lightning have won 14 of their last 15 games, with the lone loss coming to the Blues in a shootout. On the other side, the Blue Jackets have won 5 of their last 6 contests. While both teams have been solid lately, the edge in this one goes to the Lightning. The Bolts have really found a new gear in recent weeks, even without Brayden Point in the mix due to a lower body injury. The Bolts have also been great on the road, owning a 19-4-4 record away from Tampa.

The Blue Jackets won the first meeting between these teams back on October 18 by a score of 3-2. However, a lot has changed since then. Columbus has found a groove lately, but overall they have underperformed throughout the season. Columbus owns a goal differential of -14 on the season, while Tampa’s goal differential of +50 is tops in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the NHL. With Andrei Vasilevskiy playing on Friday, Jonas Johansson is slated to get the starting nod in net for the Bolts. He’s won 10 of his 17 starts this season, and figures to have a decent matchup going up against a Columbus offense that ranks 22nd in the NHL scoring 2.90 goals per game. Back the Bolts.

Lightning vs Blue Jackets prediction: Lightning ML (-125) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number. 

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