Blue Jackets Look to Exploit Blues' Early-Season Struggles Despite Back-to-Back

The Blue Jackets roll into St. Louis on Saturday night playing their second game in as many nights, and ordinarily that's where you'd fade them without a second thought. But here's the thing: Columbus has actually looked competent through three games (2-1, positive goal differential, 3.0 goals per game), while the Blues are stumbling out of the gate at 1-3 and winless at Enterprise Center.

Yes, Joel Hofer is standing on his head with a .930 save percentage and 1.68 GAA through three starts—elite numbers that should have St. Louis in better shape. But goaltending can only mask so much, and the Blues' anemic 2.25 goals per game suggests they're struggling to generate offense even in friendly confines.

The market has hammered Columbus down to +105 purely on the back-to-back narrative, but that feels like an overreaction when you're getting plus-money on the team with superior form and offensive firepower. The Jackets have shown they can score; the Blues have shown they can't, home ice or not.

DarkHorse is backing Columbus at +105 with moderate confidence. It's not a slam dunk—Hofer could steal it—but when a better-performing road team is getting disrespected this badly by the oddsmakers, you take the value and run.