New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL forecast
- The pick
- NJ · Toss-up
- Line
- Not yet
- Projected
- 3–3
- Fair odds
- -101
Your pick
The short version
- No betting line is up yet, and our pre-line forecast calls it about even (Devils 50%). It switches to the line once one posts.
- Behind that number: the Blue Jackets have home ice and the Devils rate higher (1515 to 1489 Elo).
What's at stake
Each team's chance to make the playoffs if it wins this game and if it loses, from 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season.
Devils
Now 86%
89%
with a win
84%
with a loss
This game is worth 5 points of playoff chance to them.
Blue Jackets
Now 26%
29%
with a win
24%
with a loss
This game is worth 5 points of playoff chance to them.
The pick
No line is posted yet, so this is the pre-line forecast: Elo blended with ratings learned from past lines. It switches to the line once one is posted.
Devils 50%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: NHL favorites the forecast gave 50–55% have won 51.2% of 926 graded games.
- Market
- No line yet
- Pre-line forecast
- NJ 50%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- NJ 49%
- Fair odds
- NJ -101
- CBJ +101 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Projected score
- NJ 3.2 – 3.2 CBJ
- Margin from the forecast, total from team scoring ratings
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | NJ | CBJ | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1515 | 1489 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +35 | Worth 35 Elo in the NHL |
| Starting goalies | — | — | NJ: Starter not announced · CBJ: Starter not announced |
| Elo ratings | CBJ +10 Elo | CBJ 51.4% | |
| Market-implied ratings | NJ 50.7% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | NJ 50.3% | 20% Elo, 80% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Overtime and shootout losses count as losses in these records. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest. Shot share is a team's share of the shots on goal in its games. PDO adds shooting and save percentages: far from 100 tends to even out.
| NJ | Stat | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 7th of 323.6 | Goals scored | 2.628th of 32 |
| 7th of 322.9 | Goals allowed | 3.218th of 32 |
| 6th of 32+0.7 | Margin | −0.625th of 32 |
| 2nd of 3257.2% | Shot share | 48.6%23rd of 32 |
| 22nd of 3288.7% | Save percentage | 89.5%13th of 32 |
| 1st of 328–2 | Last 10 | 4–621st of 32 |
| 9th of 325–4 | Road vs home | 6–415th of 32 |
| 15th of 321499 | Opponent Elo | 15212nd of 32 |
| 13th of 321515 | Elo rating | 148918th of 32 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Injury report
Current ESPN report. Elo values show what the model subtracts.
Devils
3 listedJohnathan Kovacevic D
Day-To-Dayday-to-day
Anthony Mantha RW
Outout
Seamus Casey D
Injured ReserveCasey will be out of action for 6-8 weeks after undergoing a knee procedure, Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News reports Friday.
Blue Jackets
Nothing on the injury report.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  NJ |  CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| Puck line | 8–10 | 6–10 |
| Last 10 | 5–5 | 5–5 |
| Favorite | 5–8 | 0–5 |
| Underdog | 3–2 | 6–5 |
| Overs–unders | 10–8 | 7–9 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 6–4 | 4–6 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
NJ 7–4 CBJ in their last 11 meetings; the forecast called 5 of 11.