Welcome back to NHL predictions, where tonight’s game features two teams whose playoff chances are growing slim. The Detroit Red Wings are once again playing uninspired hockey with a handful of games left. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets looked like they were about to shock the hockey world in March. Since March 24th, however, they have lost six straight.
NHL Predictions With the Red Wings and Blue Jackets
Season Series: Red Wings 1-0-1, Blue Jackets 1-0-1
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. EDT
How to Watch: FDSNDET, FDSNOH
Somebody has to win this one and get back on track. The Red Wings appear to look bad for multiple periods at a time. When they finally start playing like a team fighting for a playoff berth, it’s come-from-behind hockey. As they have learned the hard way, it’s not sustainable to pick up the pace when they go down by three goals.
Two straight blowout losses to the Carolina Hurricanes revealed weaknesses in the Blue Jackets. It showed they’re most likely still a team in transition. While they may not be ready for the playoffs, there’s a definite culture change brewing in Ohio’s state capital.
Team – GP – Pts – RW
BOS – 78 – 95 – 31
OTT – 77 – 90 – 34
NYI – 78 – 89 – 28
DET – 77 – 88 – 29
CBJ – 77 – 88 – 27
WAS – 78 – 87 – 33
This one is still too close for comfort, but it’s easy to see how the Red Wings and Blue Jackets are at a disadvantage. The Ottawa Senators have a two-point advantage and more regulation wins. Neither team has a game in hand over the Senators. It just shows now that every point matters.
The Red Wings Biggest Problem
Detroit is playing bad hockey, and you can’t sugarcoat it. On Sunday, they scored early, then looked like a team that forgot it was supposed to be in the playoff race. They showed they could play with intensity in the third period of Sunday’s loss, but their problem is that they can’t string together 60 minutes of playoff-style hockey.
They’re also not playing smart hockey. On Sunday, Patrick Kane committed one of the most ill-fated penalties of the season when he deliberately tripped up Quinn Hughes. In tonight’s game, the Wings must pull a complete one-eighty from what they looked like in that loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Burning Question Facing the Blue Jackets
Have they run out of firepower? The Blue Jackets have scored just 10 goals in this six-game losing streak. They’re banged up, and losing Damon Severson, Mathieu Olivier, and Dmitri Voronkov hurts. But with stakes at their highest, they have no choice but to adopt the “next man up” mentality.
Until the Blue Jackets can navigate those rough waters, they will end the year with another 82-game effort. These last few games will serve as the ultimate test for the Jackets.
Prediction
These two teams look like they’re racing to see who gets eliminated from contention the fastest as opposed to racing for the playoffs. But with so many injuries devastating the Blue Jackets, and the fact they have barely scored in six straight contests, it’s hard to like them here.
Red Wings 4 – Blue Jackets 2
Prop Bets
Alex DeBrincat is one goal away from reaching 40 and has been on a mission all season. He has a golden opportunity to get there against an ailing team. Kirill Marchenko will be the go-to in this game to try and nudge the Blue Jackets out of this slump.
Main photo by: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images
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