The Pittsburgh Penguins look to make it five wins in a row as they face the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Penguins-Blue Jackets prediction, pick, and how-to-watch

The Penguins come into the game sitting at 7-6-0 on the year. They have won four straight games though. It started with a road trip out to California, where the Penguins first beat the Sharks 10-2, then took out the Ducks 2-0, and the Kings 4-3. Last time out, they had returned home to face the Buffalo Sabres. Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring with under a minute left in the first period. In the second, the Penguins would add another goal and then would close it out with two Erik Karlsson goals in the third to take a 4-0 win.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets enter the game at 4-7-4 on the year. It has been a struggle as of late for the Blue Jackets. They are coming into the game after losing each of their last five games, and now losing nine of their last ten overall. Last time out, thye faced the Rangers, and after being up 3-2 going into the third period, it looked like they would be breaking their losing streak. Alexis Lafreniere would score with 11 seconds left to tie it up, and then the Rangers would win in a shootout, giving the Blue Jackets another loss.

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Odds: Penguins-Blue Jackets Odds

Pittsburgh Penguins: -182

Columbus Blue Jackets: +154

Over: 6.5 (-128)

Under: 6.5 (+105)

How to Watch Penguins vs. Blue Jackets

Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT

TV: NHLPP/ESPN+

Stream: FuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Penguins Will Win

For the Penguins, it is the same steadfast group leading the way for the most part. The team leading in goals and tied for the lead in points is Evgeni Malkin. Malkin comes into the game with eight goals and eight assists on the year, giving him 16 points. He has two goals and four assists on the power play as well. He is joined by Jake Guentzel with 16 points. Guentzel comes into the game with five goals and 11 assists on the year for his 16 points. Meanwhile, he also has three power-play assists on the year. Rounding out the top three is Sidney Crosby, who is second on the team in goals with seven, but also has eight assists this year to give him a third-ranked 15 points.

The newest member of the Penguin's point scorers sits four in points, and he is also the main contributor from the defensive end of the ice. Erik Karlsson comes in with four goals and nine assists on the year, giving him 13 points. He has two goals and two assists on the power play as well. Joining him in scoring from the blue line is Kris Letang. Letang comes into the game with a goal and six assists on the year.

On the year, the Penguins sit seventh in the NHL in goals per game, scoring 3.54 goals per game this year. Still, they’ll be just 19th on the power play this year. The Penguins have scored just seven times on the power play this year. On the penalty kill, the Penguins rank 11th this year, sitting with an 83.3 percent kill percentage on the year.

The Penguins will be sending Tristan Jarry to defend the net today. He is 5-5-o on the year with a 2.23 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He comes into the game having won his last three appearances. In his last three appearances, all this month, he has saved 79 of 81 shots, has one shutout, a .76 goals against average, and three wins.

Why The Blue Jackets Will Win

The Blue Jackets sit 26th in the NHL in goals per game this year, with just 2.73 goals per game. It is Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner who lead the team in points this year. Fantilli comes in with four goals and five assists this year, for nine points. He has a goal and an assist on the power play this year as well. Meanwhile, Jenner comes in with seven goals and two assists, also having nine points on their ear while leading the team in goals.

Meanwhile, A lot of the production is led from the blue line. Ivan Provorvo is tied for the team lead in points this year. He has nine assists this year from the blue line. Most of his production has been on the power play this year. He has five assists on the power play this year. Zach Werenski is also solid from the blue line. He has seven assists this year, with a goal as well.

Beyond the top-scoring group, Jack Roslovic and Kirill Marchenko are your next most productive players. Both of them come into the game with eight points in the year, while Roslovic has two goals and Marchenko has three.

On the power play, Columbus is 27th in the NHL. They have converted 13.0 percent of their power play chances this year. Meanwhile, on the penalty kill, they are third in the NHL with an 89.1 percent kill rate on the year.

The Blue Jackets will be sending Elvis Merzlikins to defend the net today in this one. On the year he is 3-3-3 with a 3.15 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Last time out, he rebounded well, saving 37 of 40 shots in the game. The time before that, he gave up three goals in ten shots in the first seven minutes of the game with the Panthers.

Final Penguins-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick

These are two teams that have been heading in opposite directions. The Penguins have been winning a ton as of late. They have won four in a row, and been dominant in the process. Still, while it would be easy to take the Penguins -1.5 at plus money, there is some major concern. The Blue Jackets have lost five straight. In there, they lost by one in regulation twice and went to overtime twice. Only in one game have they lost by over 1.5. The issue in some of the games has been random meltdowns resulting in tons of quick goals for the other team, but in four of the last five, they have kept it close. Take the Penguins to win, but it is a one-goal game.

Final Penguins-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick: Penguins ML (-182)