Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets Preview

Detroit has gone 4-4 in their last eight games, and they are playing their best hockey of the season. The Red Wings still only have 42 points on the year, which puts them just slightly ahead of the Blue Jackets.

Columbus has now lost nine straight games, and there have been plenty of blowout losses during this ski. The Blue Jackets can climb out of the cellar in the Central with a win, and they are actually the favorites in this matchup.

The Blue Jackets are -145 over the Red Wings on Tuesday night. 

Red Wings Missing Their Star

The Detroit Red Wings will be playing the remainder of the season without Dylan Larkin, and that will make life much tougher on the team. Detroit is scoring just 2.28 goals per game, and Larkin leads the team with 23 points on the year.

Jakub Vrana was recently acquired by the Red Wings, and he recently scored four goals in a blowout win. Columbus will need to throw some extra defenders at Vrana, and it could completely shut down this struggling offense.

The Red Wings have been miserable on special teams’ play all season long, another reason why they have struggled. This team was expected to finish last in the division, but the Blue Jackets are making that hard to do.

Blue Jackets Show Life on Offense

Columbus has only been slightly better than Detroit on the offensive end of the ice, but the Blue Jackets did show some good things in their most recent game. The Blue Jackets managed to score three goals against the Lightning, and that could lead to big things on Tuesday night.

Columbus is giving up 3.34 goals per game, and that is a recipe for disaster for a team that can’t score any goals. The Blue Jackets have been playing some great teams, and this will be a chance to get back on track.

Oliver Bjorkstrand continues to lead the team with 15 goals and 23 assists on the year. Look for the Blue Jackets to be more aggressive against a Red Wings team that is missing their leader. 

Chance to Stop the Streak

This long losing streak is going to come to an end at some point, and facing the Detroit Red Wings presents a great opportunity. Detroit has been playing much better of late, but this is not a very good hockey team.

There likely won’t be a ton of goals scored on Tuesday night, and that plays right into the hands of the Blue Jackets. Columbus will have to find a way to get some pucks into the net, but Detroit hasn’t done a good job of stopping opponents all season long. 

The Blue Jackets likely won’t make things easy on themselves, but they should have what it takes to win this game.