Canucks vs. Red Wings Prediction: NHL Betting Odds
The NHL schedule-makers have not been kind to the Vancouver Canucks in the early going. They had a six-game road trip starting Oct. 6 in Calgary, but the Canucks did well there in winning three times – including in Tampa and Pittsburgh, two of the league’s best teams. The Canucks start yet another six-game trip on Tuesday night with a visit to Detroit.
Canucks vs Red Wings Betting Analysis
These aren’t your father’s Red Wings as Detroit is no longer a powerhouse. That franchise made the postseason an incredible 25 straight seasons, but that ended in 2016-17. The salary cap really hurt marquee, big-spending teams like Detroit, and the Wings are in a full-on rebuild these days.
It’s the first of two meetings between these teams, with the Red Wings visiting Rogers Arena on Jan. 20. The Canucks and Wings split last year, each winning on the road – Vancouver has won two of its past three in Motown. Bo Horvat led the Canucks with three points last year vs. Detroit, all assists. Sven Baertschi led with two goals. Jacob Markstrom was 1-1-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. Justin Abdelkader led Detroit with two points, both assists. Jimmy Howard was 1-1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and .908 SV.
The road team is 5-1 in the past six meetings.
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver is on its second three-game winning streak of the season – those all came at home while the earlier streak was on the road. The Canucks beat the Avalanche on Friday 7-6 in overtime, easily the team’s season high in goals scored. Sensational rookie Elias Pettersson had two goals and three assists. The 19-year-old is the youngest Canuck ever with a five-point game and the clear Calder Trophy favourite with nine goals and six assists — the goals and points leading all first-year players. Brock Boeser added two goals and two assists. Derrick Pouliot’s power-player goal at 4:38 of OT won it; it was Pouliot’s first goal of the year. The Canucks were 2-for-4 on the power play. Markstrom stopped 23 shots.
Detroit Red Wings
Before the season, the Wings lost future Hall of Famer Henrik Zetterberg to retirement because of a back injury. The Swede was still a very productive player in 2017-18 with 56 points. In addition, the Red Wings are without veteran forward Thomas Vanek for a few weeks because of a lower-body injury. Vancouver traded Vanek to Columbus last February, and Detroit signed him to a one-year deal this past summer. The Wings are mostly young players nowadays other than with Howard and backup Jonathan Bernier in net. Detroit had a season-high three-game winning streak snapped Saturday in a 4-3 home loss to Edmonton. Bernier was in net for that one so it should be Howard on Tuesday. Detroit is 27th in scoring and 26th in GAA.
