The Columbus Blue Jackets (13-13-8) kick off a two-game set against the Detroit Red Wings (10-20-4) Saturday for a 3 p.m. ET puck drop at Little Caesars Arena. Below, we analyze the Blue Jackets-Red Wings odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
Blue Jackets at Red Wings: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:25 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Blue Jackets -155 (bet $155 to win $100) | Red Wings +130 (bet $100 to win $130)
- Against the spread/ATS: Blue Jackets -1.5 (+180) | Red Wings +1.5 (-225)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: +115 | U: -140)
Blue Jackets at Red Wings: Projected starting goalies
Elvis Merzlikins (5-3-2, 2.91 GAA, .912 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Thomas Greiss (2-14-4, 3.51 GAA, .885 SV%)
Merzlikins has won back-to-back starts for the first time since Jan. 23-28, and he is 2-0-1 with a 3.14 GAA and .899 SV% in three starts in March.
He has faced the Red Wings just once, allowing three goals on 27 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss at LCA back on Jan. 19.
Greiss has dropped his past three starts, including an ugly showing on Thursday when he coughed up just three goals on seven shots before getting pulled in a 7-1 whitewashing in Nashville.
Of course, he has received just one goal of offensive support in his past three starts, too, and 23 goals of support in the previous 12 appearances.
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Blue Jackets at Red Wings: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 2
Money line (ML)
The BLUE JACKETS (-155) are moderate favorites on the road against the punching bag Red Wings (+130).
Detroit has managed to light the lamp just one time in the past three games, and they were destroyed last time out in Nashville by a 7-1 count. Columbus has won two of the three meetings this season, outscoring Detroit 9-6.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The BLUE JACKETS -1.5 (+180) are worth backing with a chance to nearly double up, as the Red Wings +1.5 (-225) offense has been rather anemic, not only over the past three games but really for the entire season.
Detroit has just 2.1 goals per game to rank 30th out of 31 NHL teams, they’re also 30th in shots on goal (27.4) and 29th on the power play at just 12%.
Defensively, the Red Wings are also awful, ranking 27th with 3.3 goals per game allowed, and they’re the worst team on the penalty kill at 71.4%.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-140) will cost you a little extra juice, but those extra dollars will be worth it. Playing the alternate line of a flat 5 (+135) at plus-money looks tempting, but Columbus could easily erupt for plenty of goals against Greiss to sink your ticket.
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