A pair of teams that’ve disappointed this year, the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings clash at Little Caesars Arena. This divisional matchup gets started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 14 and it’ll be televised live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Ottawa Senators vs. Detroit Red Wings Odds
Detroit enters the contest as the noticeable favorite with a moneyline of -145. The line for Ottawa is standing at +125 and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting that total stand at -130 over, +110 under.
The Red Wings are 22-35 straight up (SU) and have not been kind to moneyline bettors (returning -2.5 units) thus far. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with the 30-52 record the team produced during the 2017-18 season campaign. Of its 57 games this season, 27 have gone under the total, while 27 have gone over and just two have pushed. The team’s 11-17 SU at home this year.
Detroit’s converted on 16.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.7 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Detroit has been penalized 3.7 times per game overall this season, and 3.0 per game over its last five home outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 6.2 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Averaging 28.3 saves per game with a .914 save percentage, Jimmy Howard (16-22-5) has been the top goalkeeper for the Red Wings this season. If they decide to rest him, however, head coach Jeff Blashill could roll with Jonathan Bernier (6-16-16 record, .898 save percentage, 3.37 goals against average).
Dylan Larkin and Gustav Nyquist will both spearhead the attack for the Red Wings. Larkin (53 points) has produced 24 goals and 29 assists and has recorded multiple points on 11 different occasions this year. Nyquist has 14 goals and 33 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 35 games.
In the other locker room, Ottawa is 21-35 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 56 regular season matches, 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under the total and just four have pushed. Ottawa’s 7-19 SU as a road team this season.
Ottawa has converted on 20.9 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Ottawa’s skaters have been called for penalties 3.5 times per game this season, and 1.8 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Craig Anderson (31.4 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Ottawa. Anderson has 14 wins, 21 losses, and three OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .904 save percentage and 3.55 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive firepower for the visiting Senators will be Mark Stone (26 goals, 31 assists) and Matt Duchene (25 goals, 28 assists).
Ottawa Senators vs. Detroit Red Wings Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone under in three of their last five outings.
- The extra-man advantage could play a critical role in this one. The Senators are 9-14 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 16-22 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Red Wings are 4-16 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 13-22 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Detroit (2-5 in shootouts this season) has more experience in games decided by shootout. Ottawa has yet to participate in one this year.
- Detroit is ranked 30th overall this season with 5.7 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down lately, however, as the team has forced 4.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 4.2 takeaways over its last five.
- Ottawa skaters have averaged 8.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 7.2 takeaways per game (ranked 18th).