{"id":460028,"date":"2025-01-04T08:26:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T13:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=460028"},"modified":"2025-01-03T20:23:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-04T01:23:40","slug":"nhl-predictions-january-4th-st-louis-blues-vs-columbus-blue-jackets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/01\/04\/nhl-predictions-january-4th-st-louis-blues-vs-columbus-blue-jackets\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: January 4th St. Louis Blues Vs. Columbus Blue Jackets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to a weekend edition of NHL Predictions! It is the first weekend of 2025. If you are a student or a teacher, you are likely in the final days of your winter break, although <\/span>the weather may change that in quite a few states<\/span><\/a>. Regardless of your location, we are glad you are joining us today. Today’s prediction covers the game between the <\/span>St. Louis Blues<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Columbus Blue Jackets<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/span><\/h2>\n

St. Louis Blues vs. Columbus Blue Jackets<\/span><\/h3>\n

Time:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>7:00 P.M. Eastern Time<\/span><\/p>\n

TV:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, FanDuel Sports Network Ohio<\/span><\/p>\n

The Blues and Blue Jackets are meeting for the first time this season. However, they will face one another twice in the next seven days<\/span>, so<\/span> the season series will be over rather quickly. The Blues lead the all-time series 55-34-3-1.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last season, the Jackets won the season series, shutting out the Blues in one game and limiting them to just two goals in the other. It was the first time since the 2014-15 season that the <\/span>Blue<\/span> Jackets swept the season series with the Blues. <\/span>Furthermore, <\/span>it is<\/span> also the Jackets<\/span> won the season series with the\u00a0<\/span>Blue Note<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue Note Head to Ohio After Stop in St. Louis<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Blues are playing their second of back-to-back games. After <\/span>playing a home game on Friday<\/span><\/a>, the team heads to Ohio to face their former division rivals. As a result, we can expect a different lineup from the Blues on Saturday. The team is dealing with some injuries and illnesses, which can also <\/span>play a factor in<\/span> the lineup.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>Blue Note\u00a0<\/span><\/em>are just four points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. There is an opportunity to collect points in the coming week. The Blues will <\/span>be facing<\/span> teams with losing records in three of their next four games. There is a big opportunity for the Blues to grab six points. Depending on how games go elsewhere, the Blues may <\/span>very well<\/span> find themselves in a playoff spot by next weekend. However, the Blues have to take it one shift at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackets Within Striking Distance in the Eastern Conference<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Blue Jackets are <\/span>also<\/span> just a few points out of a playoff spot. <\/span>The team’s determination and fight have been remarkable this year. <\/span>The<\/span> organization has been playing the entire season with a heavy heart following <\/span>the <\/span>tragic passing<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>Johnny Gaudreau<\/span><\/a> prior to the start of training camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is unclear if the Blue Jackets <\/span>are going to<\/span> make a push for the playoffs or if they will look to build for the future. They have been mentioned in some <\/span>trade rumours<\/span><\/a> in the last few weeks. Of course, plans can change quickly. There is still plenty of time between now and the trade deadline. Furthermore, being involved in trade rumours does not mean a team will not be making a push for the playoffs. <\/span>The Blues have <\/span>been involved<\/span> in some rumours<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>and they are<\/span> aiming for the playoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Blues are playing for a second straight night. Furthermore, they are dealing with various illnesses and injuries. The Blue Jackets have not played since Thursday. As we sometimes do, we <\/span>are going to<\/span> choose the team with more rest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue Jackets win, 3-2.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The over\/under <\/span>is set<\/span> at 5.5 goals. We are predicting exactly five combined goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

For prop bets, we are picking forward <\/span>Sean Kuraly<\/span><\/a> as an anytime scorer for the Blue Jackets. He has only three goals on the season, but he <\/span>is capable of putting<\/span> the puck in the net. <\/span>For the Blues,<\/span> we are picking youngster <\/span>Zachary Bolduc<\/span><\/a> as an anytime scorer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to a weekend edition of NHL Predictions! It is the first weekend of 2025. If you are a student or a teacher, you are likely in the final days of your winter break, although the weather may change that in quite a few states. Regardless of your location, we are glad you are joining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3464,"featured_media":460045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4547,11,4548,4524,32],"tags":[111,39],"class_list":["post-460028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-bluejackets","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","category-blues","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-st-louis-blues"],"modified_by":"Tommy Bennett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3464"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460028"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460046,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460028\/revisions\/460046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}