Home»NHL»Columbus Blue Jackets vs Florida Panthers Pick - March 12, 2026

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Florida Panthers Pick – March 12, 2026

Mike McDermott Mike McDermott
Mike McDermott
Mike McDermott
Sports Betting & iGaming Strategist
Mike McDermott is a seasoned sports betting expert and iGaming strategist with over 20 years of real-world experience in casinos, sportsbooks, and online gambling operations. He’s been deeply involved in the evolution of the iGaming industry from the early days of dial-up poker rooms to today’s highly regulated digital platforms
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Sports Betting & iGaming Strategist, Updated March 12, 2026
Fact checked by: Alex Harper
Alex Harper
Alex Harper
Betting Education & Strategy Editor
Alex Harper is a betting education editor with more than 10 years of experience covering sports betting concepts, wager types, and responsible gambling practices. His work focuses on explaining betting mechanics clearly and accurately, including point spreads, totals, futures, parlays, and live betting markets. Alex’s guides are written to help bettors understand risk, probability, and betting structure rather than promote betting behavior.
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Columbus heads to Sunrise on a strong run and is priced as a slight underdog at +100, while Florida sits at -120 at home.

The Blue Jackets are 33-21-10 and have gone 6-1-3 over their last 10, keeping them in the playoff mix with 76 points. Florida is 32-29-3 with 67 points and, entering Thursday, is 11 points back of the second wild card with 18 games remaining.

Both teams last played Tuesday (March 10), so neither is on a back-to-back. Columbus travels in after playing at Tampa Bay, while Florida is back home after a road game in Detroit.

Odds & Game Info

Odds are from BetOnline.

ItemColumbus Blue JacketsFlorida Panthers
Game timeMarch 12, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
ArenaAmerant Bank Arena (Sunrise, FL)
Spread (puck line)N/A
Moneyline+100-110
Total6.5 -110
Projected starting goaliesElvis Merzlikins (not confirmed)Sergei Bobrovsky (not confirmed)

Team Records

This table summarizes full-season results to date.

TeamRecordLast 10ATSO/U
Columbus Blue Jackets33-21-106-1-335-2931-31-2
Florida Panthers32-29-34-6-021-4337-27

Team Stats

This table focuses on the highest-impact scoring and special teams indicators.

TeamGoals per gameGoals allowed per gamePower play %Penalty kill %
Columbus Blue Jackets3.203.1619.7%77.4%
Florida Panthers3.053.3519.1%82.6%

Recaps

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus just beat Tampa Bay 5-2 on March 10, holding the Lightning to 18 shots while going 2-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Jackets also beat Florida 4-2 on March 5, a game where both teams finished with 28 shots.

Injuries to monitor: Erik Gudbranson (day-to-day, upper body), Brendan Smith (IR, torn meniscus), and Mason Marchment (day-to-day).

Florida Panthers

Florida is coming off a 4-3 win over Detroit on March 10, but the special teams were quiet (0-for-3 on the power play). The Panthers were outplayed in the most recent meeting with Columbus on March 5, losing 4-2 with an even 28-28 shot count and each team scoring once on the power play.

Injuries to monitor: Aleksander Barkov (IR, torn ACL/MCL), Seth Jones (IR, upper body), Brad Marchand (day-to-day, lower body), Sam Reinhart (day-to-day, undisclosed), Jonah Gadjovich (IR, upper body), Cole Schwindt (IR, lower body).

Matchup Keys

  • Shot volume vs shot suppression: Columbus generates 29.68 shots per game, but Florida allows just 25.77 shots per game, a meaningful matchup edge for the home side if the Panthers can keep this at 5v5.
  • Where the goals are coming from: Florida allows 1.33 third-period goals per game, while Columbus allows 1.25 in the third. Late-game volatility matters if you’re betting moneyline without a puck line available.
  • Special teams are close, but Florida’s PK has been steadier: Columbus PP is 19.7% and Florida’s PK is 82.6%. Florida’s PP is 19.1% against a Columbus PK of 77.4%.
  • 5v5 quality (model-based): Florida’s 5v5 xGF% is about 51.5% (2.60 xGF/60, 2.45 xGA/60), while Columbus is about 50.9% (2.69 xGF/60, 2.60 xGA/60). The gap is small, so availability and goaltending confirmation carry extra weight.
  • Health and lineup ceiling: Florida’s injury list includes high-usage skaters (notably Barkov and Jones), which can compress their margin for error even at home.
  • Columbus is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games.
  • Florida is 4-6-0 in its last 10 games.
  • Florida is 5-0 straight up in its last 5 home games vs Columbus.
  • Columbus is 1-9 straight up in its last 10 games vs Florida.
  • Columbus is 21-11 ATS in away games this season.
  • Florida is 9-25 ATS at home this season.
  • The Over is 5-2 in Columbus’ last 7 games.
  • Florida has gone Over the total in 10 of its last 15 games.
  • The Under is 4-2 in Florida’s last 6 games vs Columbus.

Best Bet

Columbus Blue Jackets moneyline (-110).

Columbus has been the better team lately (6-1-3 last 10) and just beat Florida 4-2 in the most recent meeting. From a betting-results standpoint, the Panthers have also been a difficult home team to back on the puck line (9-25 ATS at home), while the Jackets have traveled well in that same market (21-11 ATS away). With Florida dealing with multiple impact injuries, I’m willing to take the plus price on the hotter side, assuming goalie confirmations do not flip the handicap.

Predicted Score

Our computer projections model for this matchup predicts a final score of Blue Jackets 4, Panthers 2

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