Like the Detroit Red Wings, the Columbus Blue Jackets have split their first two regular season games. Detroit is coming off a home opener victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in front of a ruckus crowd. Now, Detroit will look to keep things going on the road Monday night.
There is one thing I can’t help but snicker about; throughout the summer, this early season matchup had one thing that I found intriguing. This was supposed to be a Mike Babcock-led Blue Jackets team in 2023-24, but this time, the often criticized coach wasn’t employed long enough to coach a single game. Detroit’s former bench boss is a known bully (that is saying it mildly) and was going to get yet another chance to coach in the show, but as they say, a tiger cannot change its stripes.
Detroit has started the season with a tough 4-3 loss in New Jersey but followed it up with an impressive 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay at home Saturday night.
Red Wings’ forward Alex DeBrincat looks to remain hot following a three-point effort Saturday night. DeBrincat, 25, is enjoying an excellent start to his Detroit career, having recorded three goals and four points over the season’s first two games. Following the loss to the Devils, head coach Derek Lalonde elevated Lucas Raymond to the top line to play opposite DeBrincat, flanking Dylan Larkin. The trio excelled, collecting three goals and five points and totaled 17 shots on goal. Despite an offensive outburst, Detroit’s defense really struggled against the Lightning. Detroit deployed seven defensemen in this contest after Robby Fabbri suffered a minor injury in the first game of the season.
The extra defender dressed was veteran Olli Maatta, who played very well last season for the Detroit Red Wings. Maatta wasn’t the problem, but I wonder if constantly changing defense pairings played a role in player positioning. It was only the second game of the season, and the Detroit Red Wings have many new faces on their roster, including half of their defensive corps revamped. Building continuity is essential, especially early on in the season, and I wonder if that played a role in Detroit’s ability to defend at a high level.
Lalonde briefly spoke about Detroit’s defensive deficiencies following Saturday night’s game.
“I loved our offense but just six or seven really uncharacteristic plays that led to easy offense for them, which was unfortunate,” Lalonde said. “Hopefully we’ll grow from all that.”
The Blue Jackets opened the season with a loss to Philadelphia but bounced back with a 5-3 victory thanks to a natural hat trick from Boone Jenner over the New York Rangers. Detroit managed to win two of three games against the Blue Jackets last season.
Detroit Red Wings game information and prediction vs. Blue Jackets
Game: Detroit Red Wings (1-1-0) v.s. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1-0)
When: Monday, October 16th
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
How to Watch: Bally Sports Detroit/ ESPN+
Odds: According to DraftKings, the Detroit Red Wings are the favored team with a -120 payout on the Moneyline. Columbus is +100. The Red Wings are the favorite on the Puck Line with a +195 payout at -1.5, and Columbus carries a -238 payout with a +1.5 spread on the Puck Line. The over/under is currently set at 7. The under is the favorite with a -142 payout, and the over has a +120 payout.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.