Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction: Motivation for the Wild Card

Prediction for the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets match which will take place on March 8th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Mike Sullivan's team was ready for the last match with Florida with a four-match winning streak, within which they managed to beat Tampa Bay twice and cope with Nashville and St. Louis. But Pittsburgh failed to continue the successful stretch. Alexander Barkov returned to the ice for the Panthers, increasing Paul Maurice's offensive team. 1-4 – Pittsburgh let the New York Islanders go ahead and allowed the main pursuer of the wild-card zone Buffalo to get three points closer to itself.

The Blue Jackets gave several key players to the deadline and naturally became weaker. Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau are still on the team, so Columbus will periodically show the attack. Still, there will undoubtedly be more to miss, given that now the Blue Jackets have a couple of goalkeepers - Merzlikin and Hutchinson.

In the previous match of Columbus against Ottawa, both goalkeepers took part. First, Merzlkin missed four times in 23 minutes, and then Hutchinson missed again – 2:5.

Columbus was one of the worst teams this season, and it became even weaker after the deadline. So Pittsburgh is unlikely to have any difficulties scoring two points against the Blue Jackets. Moreover, the Penguins are now strongly motivated by the struggle for the wild card zone of the Eastern Conference – this is the only chance for Malkin, Crosby, and company to get into the playoffs this season. We are betting on a confident victory for Pittsburgh and an effective match.