In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators clash at Canadian Tire Centre in a divisional matchup. Fox Sports Detroit will air the game, which gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 2.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators Odds
Ottawa (+125) is playing the role of underdog to Ottawa (-145), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -125 under, +105 over.
Detroit is 6-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.6 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Seven of its matches have gone over the total, while six have gone under and none have pushed. The Wings are 4-4 SU on the road in 2017-18.
The Red Wings have found the net on 13.6 percent of their power play opportunities thus far. That represents a drop-off from last season, when they were ranked 27th in the NHL by scoring on 15.1 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger year-over-year, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 19th overall last season) to 83.6 percent this year.
The Wings, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.8 times per game this season, a number that’s regressed some from last year’s 3.7 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.8 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 10.4 minutes per outing this year.
Averaging 30.4 saves per game with a .927 save percentage, Jimmy Howard (5-5) has been the top option in goal for Detroit this year. If Detroit chooses to rest him, however, the team may turn to Petr Mrazek (1-3-1 record, .901 save percentage, 3.24 goals against average).
Dylan Larkin and Mike Green will both lead the way for the visiting Red Wings. Larkin (12 points) has tallied two goals and 10 assists, and has recorded multiple points in two different games. Green has one goal and 10 assists to his nameand has logged a point in six games.
On the other bench, Ottawa is 5-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Eight of its games have gone over the total, while four have gone under and none have pushed. So far this year, the team is 2-6 SU as the home team.
The Senators have converted on just 19.6 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 88.2 percent of all penalties.
Ottawa skaters have been whistled for penalties only 3.8 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.3, the fourth-worst mark in the league. After serving an average of 10.6 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 9.5 minutes per matchup this year.
Craig Anderson has stopped 26.6 shots per game as the top netminder in goal for the Senators. Anderson has four wins, five losses, and three OT losses to his credit and has maintained a fairly-weak .895 save percentage and 3.14 goals against average this year.
The home team offense will be led by Mark Stone (seven goals, five assists).
Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Red Wings, O/U – Over
Betting Trends:
- Ottawa (1-4 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Detroit, however, is undefeated in two shootouts this year.
- The over has hit in four of Ottawa’s last five outings.
