Some more Monday night hockey will be on tap hours from now as the Detroit Red Wings battle it out with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Red Wings-Blue Jackets prediction and pick will be revealed.

Thus far, the Detroit Red Wings enter the season with aspirations to reach the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season. Before that, Detroit had one of the longest postseason streaks in sports history as they had been a playoff squad for 25 consecutive seasons prior. Most recently, the Red Wings were able to avenge their season-opening loss by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-4 to even up their record through their first two games.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are fresh off of a victory and are also a dead-even 1-1 to begin the brand new season. Against the Rangers, it proved to be the Blue Jackets that were infectious to scoring as they dropped five goals on New York in the 5-3 win. With their first win of the season under their belts, can Columbus continue to march on with their newfound momentum?

Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NHL Odds: Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets Odds

Detroit Red Wings: -1.5 (-172)

Columbus Blue Jackets: +1.5 (-210)

Over: 6.5 (-140)

Under: 6.5 (+114)

How to Watch Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets 

Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT

TV: ESPN+

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Red Wings Will Cover The Spread/Win

While it won’t be an easy task on the road, there are still plenty of reasons that the Detroit Red Wings can cover the spread and find a way to win!

For starters, the Red Wings have already proved their lethal play with an extra-man attacker, and there is no doubt that Detroit will look to expose Columbus whenever they are on the power-play. Through two games, head coach Derek Lalonde should be more than pleased with his team’s 40% conversion rate on power-plays. Not only has Detroit been absolutely lethal in this category despite the small sample size, the Red Wings rank 4th in all of the NHL in power-play success. If Columbus doesn’t play smart and commits a slew of penalties, then look out for the Red Wings to make them pay!

All in all, the most important aspect of this game that the Red Wings will most likely want to dominate will fall into the category of an improved defensive effort that hasn’t been on the same page as of yet. Even more so, a stupendous effort by goalie Ville Husso may need to take place. A year ago, it was Husso who saved 90% of his shots faced and compiled a 26-22 record all together. Will a dominant performance by the Detroit goal tender be just what the doctor ordered on their way to covering the spread?

Why The Blue Jackets Will Cover The Spread/Win

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets entered the new season with some much-needed new confidence after a horrendous campaign last year that resulted in Columbus going 25-48-9 overall and were clearly one of the worst teams in all of North America. Still, the expectation for this franchise and their fans are to rebound in a big way en route to their first playoff berth since 2020.

In order to handle their business and send the Red Wings home packing, don’t be surprised if Columbus comes out and starts the scoring early and often. Indeed, even though it was the Blue Jackets that saw themselves faced with a 1-0 deficit in the early goings of their showdown with the New York Rangers, they ended up heading into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead. A year ago, Columbus was a team that did not perform well when faced with large deficits, and starting off fast to bring the home crowd to a feverish pitch will be more than vital.

To conclude, the Columbus must also find a way to not be so dramatically out-shot like they were against New York. By the time the clock had hit triple zeroes, the Blue Jackets only recorded 21 shots on goal compared to the Rangers’ whopping 42. Simply put, even if Columbus doesn’t always have open lanes to fire the puck into the back of the net, at least peppering Husso and putting up the shots on net could be all that is needed to overcome the Red Wings and treat their home fans with a triumphant victory.

Final Red Wings-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick

Without question, the season is extremely young and we have yet to see what both of these teams are all about, but it is always a safe bet to side with the home team who are +1.5 goal underdogs to cover the spread.

Final Red Wings-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick: Blue Jackets +1.5 (-210)