The Red Wings are in Sweden for two games against division rivals

Locked in a tight race in the NHL’s Atlantic Division, the Red Wings are on the road – a long road – for their next two games at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden where they are one of four teams playing games in the NHL’s Global Series.

The NHL’s Global Series is the league’s yearly attempt to broaden its worldwide fan base by playing games in outside of North America. Games have also been played in Finland, the Czech Republic and London.

Detroit has never won a game in Sweden, losing twice in 2009 to the Blues when it was called the “Premiere Series.”

Michigan sportsbooks have markets on the Red Wings wherever they play. Currently Caesars has the Wings +2500 to win the Atlantic Division, still well back. DraftKings Sportsbook has the same odds on the Wings in the division, but now has them +130 to make the playoffs.
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015-2016 season.

High On The Wings

The Wings have been one of the surprises of the NHL, with an 8-5-2 record and 18 points. They’re the only team to beat Boston in regulation and are third in the Atlantic Division.

Unfortunately, the bad news for the Wings is that Boston has a five-point lead in the division race and there are five teams clustered in the division within three points of one another: Florida, Detroit, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Montreal.

So while the Wings are within a few wins of the Bruins, they’re also a few losses away from being in last place.

Plenty of O, Not Much D

Offense has taken over in the NHL and the Wings are part of the trend.

Wings start center Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with 17 points, which ranks in the top 20 in the NHL and has eight assists on the power play. The Wings power play had been a concern entering the season, but it has been steady.

Big free agent signee Alex DeBrincat is tied for seventh in the NHL with 10 goals, but just went through a streak of seven goals without lighting the lamp. Young defenseman Moritz Seider has 10 assists, but is -3 in plus/minus, not a good sign for your No. 1 defenseman.

Wings goalie Ville Husso continues to struggle. He’s allowed 3.61 goals a game, which is the second most of any regular goalie in the NHL. However, the Wings have carried him to a 6-3-1 record – proof that the Wings offense is up.

Going Global

After beating Columbus on Saturday, the Wings immediately took off for Sweden to get acclimated to the time change. They play the Senators at 2 p.m. Thursday and the Maple Leafs at 2 p.m. on Friday. Ottawa is last in the Atlantic Division, while the Leafs and star Auston Matthews have won three of four and are tied with Detroit with 18 points.

After Friday, the Wings don’t play again until the day before Thanksgiving.

The Wings are 8-7 against the spread this season, and six of their last eight games have hit the over. We will have to see if the Wings brought their high-powered offense to Sweden.

By:Darren Cooper

Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.