In their third and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets face off at Nationwide Arena. The match will get underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, February 7, and you can watch this Eastern Conference matchup live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
The Blue Jackets are 29-25 straight up (SU) and have netted moneyline bettors 7.0 units this year. That early-season winning percentage isn’t too far off from to what the team posted during the 2018-19 season (47-35). Out of the team’s 54 regular season outings, 34 of them have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 17-11 SU at home this year.
Columbus has converted on just 17.1 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s ranked 25th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 10th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.4 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Columbus has been penalized just 3.1 times per game overall this season, and 1.2 per game over its past five contests. The team has had to stave off opposition power plays for just 6.1 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Boasting a .913 save percentage and 25.7 saves per game, Joonas Korpisalo (17-15-5) has been the best goalkeeper for the Blue Jackets this year. If the Jackets decide to give him the evening off, however, the team might roll with Elvis Merzlikins (11-12-12 record, .929 save percentage, 2.30 goals against average).
Pierre-Luc Dubois and Gustav Nyquist will each be focal points for the Blue Jackets. Dubois (42 points) has tallied 17 goals and 25 assists and has recorded multiple points in nine different games this year. Nyquist has 12 goals and 22 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 26 contests.
On the visitors’ side of the ice, Detroit is 13-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 23.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 55 regular season contests, 25 of its games have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just six have pushed. Detroit’s 5-22 SU as an away team this season.
Detroit has converted on just 14.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 31st overall and it’s successfully killed off 74.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Detroit’s skaters have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jonathan Bernier (26.3 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for Detroit. Bernier owns an 11-20-2 record, and has registered a .908 save percentage and 2.89 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Red Wings, the offense will run through Dylan Larkin (15 goals, 24 assists) and Tyler Bertuzzi (18 goals, 19 assists).
Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in three of Columbus’ last five outings.
- The Red Wings are 6-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-30 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Detroit is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Columbus is 0-2 in shootouts.
- Columbus skaters have forced 7.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 6.6 takeaways per game (ranked 25th overall).
- Detroit skaters have averaged 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 4.4 takeaways per game (ranked 32nd).
- Columbus might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 18-15 in games decided by one goal, while Detroit is 7-10 in such games.
