San Jose Sharks vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction: The two worst teams meet

Prediction for the NHL San Jose Sharks vs Columbus Blue Jackets match, which will take place on March 15. Check the team conditions and choose several betting options.

San Jose is having a poor regular season. If a year earlier, the Sharks at least made minimal attempts to clinch a spot in Cup eight, now we do not see anything like that. Since the start of the season, the Californians have been among the underdogs in the league, where they're staying to this day. What's more, with the departures of Timo Meyer and Nick Bonino, they simply aren't doing so well at all. In their last nine games, the team has only one win over Winnipeg (3:2). They lost 3:4 on the shootout against Chicago and were held scoreless over the other seven games, dropping to last place in the Western Conference standings.

Columbus is another team that does not have any tournament goals this season. Last regular season, the Jackets showed entertaining and productive hockey, but now things have changed for the worse. They're barely clinging to points. In the last nine meetings, they have only beaten Edmonton and Buffalo, 6:5 and 5:3, respectively, while the other seven have only been losses. This has resulted in Columbus being last in the Eastern Conference standings.

San Jose and Columbus are the two worst teams in their conferences, and they are no longer motivated in the regular season. They dream of an early vacation to forget everything they've faced this season. If we turn to statistics, the Jackets have a better chance of success in the upcoming battle. The opponents lost only once in their last seven away meetings, while the Californians have lost six games in a row in their home court. Moreover, the only head-to-head encounter of the season stayed with the visitors - 5:3, so now we can bet that Columbus won't lose.

San Jose and Columbus already finish the regular championship, losing all chances to make the playoffs. This allows them to forget about defensive structures and focus on offense. The statistics confirm that. In the last six meetings with the Sharks, there were 44 goals scored (7.33 goals per game on average), and the Jackets scored 53 goals (7.57 goals per game on average) in their seven previous encounters. Based on this, the best option for the prediction seems to be a total over 6.5, and separately, we should look at the bet on the total over 0.5 points of Kirill Marchenko.