Detroit Red Wings vs. New Jersey Devils Prediction, NHL Odds
New Jersey will host Detroit in their home opener, looking for its first win of the season. The Devils boast a 5-1-2 record in home-opener situations dating back to 2015.
The Devils are a slight -178 favourite to win tonight on the NHL odds with a total of 6.5.
Red Wings vs. Devils NHL Betting Odds
Detroit hit the under last night for the seventh game in a row after hitting the Over in only one of their preseason matchups. They have a 4-4 record including preseason games and have also evenly split against the spread.
New Jersey’s first game of the season versus Philadelphia hit the over on Thursday night and they were unable to cover the spread in the 5-2 final. Combined with their preseason, they are 4-4 ATS and split the Over/Under 4-4 as well.
The Red Wings dominated last year’s three-game season series sweeping the Devils, outscoring them by a combined 13-5 and covering the spread in every matchup. Tyler Bertuzzi went off in that set of games picking up six points (4G, 2A), while Dylan Larkin notched his first career hat trick.
Looking back at their past 10 meetings, the Under is 7-3 and Detroit has covered the spread seven times.
Detroit Red Wings
New head coach Derek Lalonde had to be impressed with his Wings in their season debut last night, shutting out the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. New netminder Ville Husso stopped all 29 shots he faced picking up his fourth career shutout.
It was rookie winger, 6-foot-6 Elmer Soderblom (159th overall draft pick in 2019) who stole the show, scoring his first career goal and breaking the scoreless tie 2:33 into the third period. Detroit went on to add two empty netters and Michael Rasmussen was in on them both to end the night with three points (1G, 2A).
Detroit will turn to goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic tonight, in the second half of their back-to-back. Nedeljkovic went 20-24-9 with the Wings last season, posting a .901 save percentage along with a 3.31 goals-against average.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils are looking to bounce back after taking a 5-2 beating in Philadelphia from the Flyers in their season opener on Thursday night. Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood stopped only 20 of 24 shots thrown his way giving up two goals just 23 seconds apart, posting a .833 save percentage on the night. The 25-year-old looked like a promising young netminder in his rookie season but has put up disappointing numbers since then. The Devils picked up Vitek Vanecek over the summer to tandem with Blackwood, so it will be interesting to see who starts in front of the home crowd tonight.
On a brighter note, Alexander Holtz’s first career goal opened the scoring this season for the Devils on Thursday night and Jesper Bratt had two assists in the game to lead the team offensively.
