NBCSN’s coverage of the 2020-21 NHL season continues with Monday’s matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings. Coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
Columbus and Detroit will meet for the first of eight times this season with the new division realignment. The Red Wings will host the Blue Jackets again on Tuesday night in what will be each team’s first true back-to-back contest of the season.
Both of these teams started the season with two games against the same opponent as the Blue Jackets lost twice to Nashville, while the Red Wings split their two meetings with Carolina.
Columbus lost 3-1 on Thursday night before surrendering four third-period goals in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Predators. Columbus out shot Nashville 44-33 on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Jackets came away empty handed to start the season. Detroit was shut out by the Hurricanes in their opening game on Thursday but bounced back with a 4-2 win on Saturday to capture the team’s first win since March 8, 2020. Dylan Larkin netted his first two goals of the season to help lead the Red Wings.
[MORE: What defines a successful season for Red Wings rebuild?]
The Blue Jackets have filled their void in net after Sergei Bobrovsky left as a free agent in 2019. Columbus’ tandem of Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo helped guide the team to the playoffs last year after splitting time in the regular season and have each started one game to begin the 2020-21 campaign.
After going two years without a captain, Detroit handed Dylan Larkin the ‘C’ ahead of the 2020-21 season. Larkin, who grew up in Waterford, Michigan, is currently in his sixth season with the Red Wings after being drafted 15th overall in 2014. The 24-year-old is Detroit’s 37th captain and first since Henrik Zetterberg retired in 2018.
[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]
WHAT: Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings
WHERE: Little Caesars Arena
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 18, 12 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
ON THE CALL: Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Blue Jackets-Red Wings stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BLUE JACKETS
Mikhail Grigorenko - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Boone Jenner - Max Domi - Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno - Alexandre Texier - Liam Foudy
Eric Robinson - Riley Nash - Emil Bemstrom
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov - David Savard
Michael Del Zotto - Dean Kukan
Starting goalie: Joonas Korpisalo
RED WINGS
Tyler Bertuzzi - Dylan Larkin - Anthony Mantha
Filip Zadina - Robby Fabbri - Bobby Ryan
Vladislav Namestnikov - Valtteri Filppula - Sam Gagner
Mathias Browne - Luke Glendening - Adam Erne
Patrik Nemeth - Filip Hronek
Dan DeKeyser - Jon Merrill
Marc Staal - Troy Stecher
Starting goalie: Thomas Greiss