Red Wings at Devils Expert Insights & Betting Tips

Looking to end a 9-year playoff drought, the Red Wings enter the weekend in third-place in the Atlantic Division. It’s a precarious spot as they are just 3 points behind division leading Tampa Bay and 2 points ahead of fourth-place Montreal.

Detroit is trying to avoid the same fate of Sunday’s opponent New Jersey, which played itself out of playoff contention by losing 7 of 8 games around the Olympic break. Detroit has dropped 6 of 9 games following Tuesday’s 4-3 OT loss to Vegas, though the point was crucial.

Red Wings at Devils Preview

The second of three meetings between Eastern Conference foes the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils takes place on Sunday, March 8, 2026 from Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET with ESPN airing the game live.

Public Betting Odds Factors

With the NHL trade deadline on the Friday before this game, both teams could have a significantly different look. Detroit is in the thick of the playoff race and currently in third in the Atlantic. Being so close to ending a playoff skid dating back to the 2015-16 season you can expect the Wings to add some pieces.

Back in November the Devils were a different team. They led the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference before they were slammed by an injury to Olympic hero Jack Hughes. They lost 12 of 19 games during his absence and never fully recovered.

The inability to put the puck in the net has been New Jersey’s downfall. During a recent 5-game losing streak the Devils scored a total of 4 goals. At the height of the season they were averaging more than 3.1 goals per game. They currently have the third-worst offensive attack in the NHL averaging 2.52 goals.

As a result of their offensive woes the Devils have cashed the UNDER on the NHL spread a league high 37 times, including 7 times with a push on the total in their last 9 games. It’s not for a lack of trying. The Devils have the 5th most shots on goal but their 8.5 shooting percentage is the worst.

Detroit has had more success scoring with an average of nearly 3 goals per game. However, they will need to upgrade the offense in order to reach the playoffs and make a deep postseason run.

Though they have a record of 35-20-7 the Red Wings are the only team in the East currently in a playoff spot to have a negative goal differential at minus-2.

Red Wings at Devils Predictions

The Devils have seemingly snapped out of their months-long slumber winning 3 in row ahead of their weekend back to back. They also scored 11 goals with a shootout tally in that span. The offense is boosted with Jack Hughes back in the lineup after his Olympic performance. Hughes is a point per game player, who has unfortunately missed 1/3 of the season due to injuries.

Detroit doesn’t rely on one player for a bulk of the offense instead getting contributions from the trio of Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin. Each has scored at least 20 goals and between them they have 26 power play markers. If given the chance they can exploit a weak New Jersey penalty kill.

Red Wings at Devils Betting Tips

Outside of their record the Red Wings are about as average as you can get. They are 31-31 on the NHL puck line and the UNDER is 30-29 with 3 pushes. Heck, their goal differential of -2 is right at the center.

Detroit has succeeded in the overtime period winning 9 games, the second-most in the NHL.

New Jersey’s 19th ranked power play is another reason why they are at the bottom of most offensive stat categories. They have only 1 PPG in 26 chances over their last 9 games.