The struggling Columbus Blue Jackets look to get out of the seller of the Central Division when they take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Detroit leads Columbus by two points with the Blue Jackets going 1-7-2 over their last 10.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this Central Division battle at Nationwide Arena. Columbus is the favorite at -145. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds Detroit at +125 as the underdog.
Detroit lost forward Tyler Bertuzzi for the season. They will also be without three of their centers, Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, and Frans Nielsen. Columbus will be without a group of centers as well, as both Boone Jenner and Zac Dalpe will be out. They will also be without forward Gustav Nyquist and Zach Werenski.
Detroit Falls to Dallas in OT
Jonathan Bernier stopped 50 shots, but it was not enough as Detroit lost to Dallas in overtime, 2-1. Dennis Cholowski scored the only goal of the game for the Red Wings. The loss was the fourth in the last five games for Detroit (1-3-1).
Detroit is 30th in the NHL in goals per game at 2.28 and is 29th in shooting percentage at 8.4%. The Red Wings are 30th on the power-play at 11.0%. Larkinโs leading scorer with 23 points, but he is out. Filip Hronek also has 23 points and leads the team with 21 assists. The leading goal scorer for the Red Wings has just 11, that is Adam Erne.
Detroit is 23rd in goals allowed per game at 3.12 and is 25th in penalty killing at 76.9%. Look for Bernier back in the net on Tuesday. He is 9-9-1 with a 3.02 GAA and a .912 save percentage. After giving up seven goals to Nashville on April 8, he has allowed 10 total goals over his last four starts.
Blue Jackets Drop Eighth Straight
The Blue Jackets dropped their eighth straight game on Sunday (0-6-2), falling to Tampa Bay in overtime, 4-3. Victor Hedman scored the game-winner just 10 seconds into the extra session. Columbus got two goals from Eric Robinson. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Max Domi each had a pair of assists.
Columbus is 29th in goals per game at 2.38 and is 30th in shooting percentage at 8.3%. The power-play is 28th in the league at 15.0%. Bjorkstrand leads the team in scoring with 38 points and also leads in goals with 15. Cam Atkinson is second with 31 points.
The Blue Jackets are 26th in goals allowed at 3.34 per game and are 15th in penalty killing at 79.7%. With Joonas Korpisalo hurt in the last contest, it will be Elvis Merzlikins going for Columbus. He is 6-12-3 with a 2.94 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Merzlikins has played well of late, allowing seven total goals over his last four appearances.
Trends:
Detroit:
- None
Columbus:
- 1-6 in their last seven games at home.
- 0-5 in their last five games against teams with a winning percentage below 40%
Columbus has dominated the Red Wings at home, going 6-1 in the last seven meetings there and they are 22-8 in the last 30 meetings overall. That is a lot of reason to believe in the Blue Jackets, but this team is in a terrible rut right now. Eight straight losses have them in the bottom of the Central Division, as Detroit is playing fairly well over their last 10 (4-3-3). I like the Red Wings to continue the struggles for Columbus.
Pick: Take Detroit at -145.
The Total:
These teams have gone under in 20 of their last 29 meetings. Detroit has gone under in five of their last six games while Columbus has gone over in five straight games at home and eight of their last 10 overall. Conflicting trends are tough to pick, but I like the goaltending matchup here. I think that helps to keep it low as Detroit wins in overtime.
Pick: Go under 5.5 at -135.