Blue Jackets vs. Panthers NHL Predictions, Picks and Odds - March 5

The Columbus Blue Jackets (31-21-8) host the Florida Panthers (30-28-3) on Thursday, March 5, with the Blue Jackets coming off a victory in their last game and the Panthers a loss. The Panthers are slight underdogs, at -105, and the Blue Jackets are -115.

Columbus earned a 3-2 victory at home its last time out on March 3 against the Nashville Predators. Kirill Marchenko (one assist) and Damon Severson (one assist) were among the seven Blue Jackets players who collected one point each.

Florida played on the road in its last game on March 3, and fell 5-1 against the New Jersey Devils. Anton Lundell (one goal) and Uvis Balinskis (one assist) were among the three Panthers skaters who collected one point each in that outing.

Before watching this matchup, here's our prediction for which club will secure the win in Thursday's hockey action.

Blue Jackets vs. Panthers Predictions & Pick

For the upcoming contest between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers, computer-derived moneyline, over/under, and score predictions are below, based on data from Dunkel Index.

• Prediction: Panthers 4 - Blue Jackets 3
• Pick OU: Over 6.5 (Dunkel projecting 6.95 goals)
  

Pick with the best in the business! Get free picks for every game, every week at the Dunkel Index.

Blue Jackets vs. Panthers Moneylines

Grab a peek below at the most recent moneylines for the Blue Jackets-Panthers matchup.

• Favorite: Blue Jackets (-115)
• Underdog: Panthers (-105)

Blue Jackets Betting Insights

• The Blue Jackets have gone 17-5 this season when listed as a moneyline favorite.
• Columbus is 16-5 when playing with moneyline odds of -115 or shorter (76.2% win percentage).
• The Blue Jackets' implied moneyline win probability is 53.5% in this game.
• Columbus' games this season have gone over this matchup's total of 6.5 goals 28 times.

Panthers Betting Insights

• This season the Panthers have been an underdog 17 times, and won 12, or 70.6%, of those games.
• Florida has a record of 12-4 in games when oddsmakers have them as underdogs of at least -105 on the moneyline.
• Bookmakers have implied, given the moneyline set for this matchup, that the Panthers have a 51.2% chance to win.
• Florida has played 31 games this season that finished with over 6.5 goals.

Blue Jackets Key Stats

• Columbus ranks 17th in the league with 187 goals scored (3.1 per game).
• The Blue Jackets rank 19th in goals against, conceding 190 total goals (3.2 per game) in NHL play.
• Its goal differential (-3) ranks 17th in the league.
• The 28 power-play goals the Blue Jackets have scored this season (on 143 power-play chances) rank 30th in the NHL.
• Columbus has the league's 20th-ranked power-play conversion rate (19.58%).
• The Blue Jackets have scored five shorthanded goals this season.
• Columbus has the league's 25th-ranked penalty-kill percentage (77.25%).
• Columbus wins 50.6% of its faceoffs to rank 13th in the NHL.
• The Blue Jackets make 10.5% of their shots (22nd in the league).

Panthers Key Stats

• Florida has 182 goals this season (3.0 per game), 20th in the NHL.
• The Panthers have given up 204 total goals this season (3.3 per game), 25th in the league.
• it has the 23rd-ranked goal differential in the league at -22.
• With 43 power-play goals (on 223 chances), the Panthers are seventh-best in the NHL.
• Florida scores on 19.28% of its power plays, No. 21 in the league.
• The Panthers have seven shorthanded goals (second in NHL).
• Florida's has the eighth-best penalty-kill percentage (82.38%).
• Florida is 26th in faceoff win rate in the NHL (47.8%).
• With a shooting percentage of 10.3%, the Panthers are 25th in the league.