The Detroit Red Wings road trip out west has not gotten off to the best start. They were stomped by the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, being handed a 6-3 loss in the afternoon game. After that, the Red Wings got on a plane to head to Arizona, where they took on the Coyotes.
Ultimately the Red Wings would fall to the Coyotes during a shootout, helping Arizona snap a nine-game losing streak. That kicked the Red Wings’ losing streak to three in a row. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said they came away with a point and can still end the road trip with “as many points in as many games” with a win against Vegas.
As the team got on the plane and got moving once again, they were in Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. Lalonde’s comments were a bit wishful thinking, as the Red Wings are taking on the no.1 seed in the Pacific Division.
The Golden Knights have dropped each of their last two games. The Red Wings have a three-game losing streak. The Red Wings have the career edge with a 5-4-0 record over the Golden Knights. But this being the third game of a road trip in four days, it feels like the Red Wings are done for.
The Red Wings will have their hands full against Vegas, and this one could get ugly. Expect the Red Wings to come out sluggish, leading to a lackluster performance. It’s one of those games where it’s hard to see things going well for Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings game information and prediction vs. Golden Knights
A couple of things to note. If the Red Wings want to stay in the game with Vegas Golden Knights, they will have their work cut out. One of the things that the Red Wings are struggling with is zone entries.
It’s been a lot of chip-ins beyond the defender to open ice, but the opposing defenders are quick to cut off the Red Wings from getting to the puck or can retrieve the puck on their own. The other option has been hard rims around the boards for a dump & chase strategy that ultimately has led to many turnovers.
The team has been struggling to carry the puck into the zone and make a clean entry; something has to give sooner or later. The other thing for the Red Wings to try and improve offensively is their quality of shots.
The Red Wings have been putting pucks on net but are struggling to really get in tight on opposing goalies and create high-danger scoring changes. I do not necessarily mean on top of the crease, but taking more shots from inside the dots, around the inner hashes, or near the top of the circles in front of the net would yield better results.
If the Red Wings want to stay in this one, they need to ensure they are better at both things.
Game: Detroit Red Wings (18-7-8) v.s. Vegas Golden Knights (28-15-2)
When: Thursday, January 19th, 2023
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Where: T-Mobile Arena
Where to Watch: ESPN+
Odds: According to DraftKings, the Vegas Golden Knights are the Moneyline favorites, yielding a -165 payout. The Detroit Red Wings have a +140 payout on the Moneyline. On the Puck Line, it’s the Red Wings who are favorites with -170 odds at +1.5. The Golden Knights are +145 odds at -1.5. The over/under is set at 6.5, with the over holding +100 odds and the under at -120 for now.
Prediction: It’s hard to like the Red Wings in this match-up. They dropped the first two in this road trip and have the chance to get curb-stomped by the Golden Knights on this one. The Red Wings are going to have their hands full in this one. They’ll have to come out with energy and excel in the offensive zone early. Clean zone entries and good puck possession leading to quality scoring chances will be the key to success.
I like the Golden Knights to win here and to win big. Vegas to win by two goals and the over sounds like a good play, even if it’s not the favorites. Ville Husso is in net, but I think the level of play in front of him will lack and allow Vegas to find the back of the net.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.