Philadelphia at Columbus

Columbus had some offseason turmoil as Mike Babcock resigned and Pascal Vincent took over as coach, but the Blue Jackets still expect to improve this season as the injury situation can't get any worse than in 2022-23. Columbus had 26 players sustain injuries and 563 man-games lost, and that was a major factor in its finishing 25-48-9. The Blue Jackets do have a top line that features Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine along with center Boone Jenner, but Columbus will need improvement on the defensive side. Elvis Merzlikins will be in net tonight, and he was a victim of the defensive defiencies last season leading to a 4.23 goals-against average in 30 games. Philadelphia is doing a complete overhaul and is pegged to finish last in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers are 17-49 their past 66 road games and 16-40 in division games. Take the Blue Jackets as a Max Play.