Blue Jackets vs Senators

The Blue Jackets arrive on a two-game winning streak after victories over the Islanders and Kings, while the Senators have cooled off with back-to-back losses following a three-game surge, setting up a classic question of form versus season-long quality at Ottawa -210 and Columbus 175. Per the current ESPN rosters, Columbus can roll a deep spine with Boone Jenner, Adam Fantilli, Sean Monahan and Zach Werenski, while Ottawa counters with Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot, but the Sens are significantly dinged up, with Linus Ullmark out and both Shane Pinto and Lars Eller sidelined, leaving Leevi Merilainen and a thinner center group to carry the load. Season stats still lean Ottawa’s way – roughly 3.27 goals for and 3.24 against with a top-tier power play and strong shot suppression at home versus Columbus’ 2.92 for and 3.41 against – yet the Blue Jackets have been competitive on the road and are trending up defensively. In the head-to-head, Stutzle and Batherson drove Ottawa’s 6-3 win in Columbus earlier this month and Ullmark blanked the Jackets 4-0 here last April, but Jenner, Werenski and company also showed they can punch back with a 5-2 win in Columbus late last season, and the current goaltending situation narrows Ottawa’s edge considerably. With a shorthanded Senators lineup and Columbus playing its best hockey of the month, I see enough path for an upset to justify taking the Jackets at 175 on the moneyline, grading it a B for moderate confidence and strong potential return relative to the risk. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:23. ([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/game/_/gameId/401802957/blue-jackets-senators))

Both teams’ recent streak profiles and scoring trends lean toward a high-event game: Columbus has scored four or more in three of its last five outings during a 3-2 stretch, and Ottawa’s last four have all landed on at least six total goals, including wild 7-5 and 6-4 results. On the season the Senators sit around 3.27 goals for and 3.24 against with an elite power play and a bottom-ranked penalty kill, while Columbus posts roughly 2.92 for and 3.41 against with an above-average power play and suspect defensive metrics, so their combined baseline already points slightly north of the 6.5 total. Ottawa’s core of Stutzle, Tkachuk, Batherson and Jake Sanderson has already dropped six on the Jackets once this month, and Columbus’ distributed attack led by Werenski, Jenner and Kirill Marchenko has produced seven goals over its last two wins and regularly pushes games into the 6–7 goal range. With Ullmark out and Merilainen likely starting for the Sens, the goaltending matchup is softer than the raw team numbers suggest, and at a price of -105 on Over 6.5 versus -115 on the Under, the modest discount toward offense lines up with both special-teams dynamics and recent form. I’ll take Over 6.5 at -105 with a Grade B+, reflecting a strong expectation of chances both ways and a near even-money payout for backing goals. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:23. ([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/game/_/gameId/401802957/blue-jackets-senators))

The recent results and matchup history point me toward the underdog on the puckline, as Columbus has been within two goals or fewer in four of its last five (including three wins) and Ottawa’s last five have all finished with three-goal margins or less despite some lopsided scorelines. In the series, the Senators have taken two of the last three meetings by scores of 6-3 and 4-0, but there’s also a tight 3-2 Ottawa win last March, and this Blue Jackets roster is deeper down the middle now with Fantilli, Monahan and Jenner all available behind an in-form Zach Werenski on the back end. With Ottawa missing Ullmark plus center-depth pieces Pinto and Eller, while Columbus has only depth pivot Isac Lundestrom listed as day-to-day, the goaltending and matchup edges that would normally justify Ottawa by multiple goals are muted, especially with Jet Greaves providing steadier recent play in the Jackets crease. Laying -130 to grab Columbus +1.5 gives you both an outright upset and the very common one-goal road loss working in your favor, which I rate as a high-probability cover with manageable juice and therefore a Grade B+. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/12/2025 09:23. ([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nhl/game/_/gameId/401802957/blue-jackets-senators))