The NHL couldn’t have hoped for a better situation leading into the 2025 Stadium Series. The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are part of a group of teams hovering around the wildcard cutoff in the Eastern Conference. The two teams will take it outside Saturday night at Ohio Stadium in what is proving to be a massive game in the playoff race.
Before they go to war outside, the Red Wings and Blue Jackets will battle inside Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night. The Red Wings go into Thursday night’s showdown two points up on the Blue Jackets with both teams holding down wildcard spots.
These two games will have the feel of a mini playoff series. The intensity level will be high knowing that every point matters. Given that it’s consecutive games against each other, don’t be surprised to see the teams grow hated towards each other.
This poses an interesting question. Are we looking at the potential of the next great rivalry being between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets? While some things have to fall into place, the elements are there that it could develop into one over time.
This Week Just the Beginning
In order to have a true rivalry, you need several things to fall into place. But you also have to start somewhere. For the Blue Jackets and Red Wings, this week is that potential start.
It’s not often you get a huge regular-season game in February. While it’s certainly not “must win”, it’s as close to need to win as possible. A Blue Jackets’ clean sweep of the two games in regulation would put them up by two over the Red Wings. Conversely, if it’s the Red Wings that clean sweep, they open up a six-point gap over the Blue Jackets.
These kinds of games plant the seed for what could happen in the future. Given the trajectory of where both teams are going, they’re in a similar spot trying to break through in the Eastern Conference. Despite being in different divisions, both have hopes of being among the best in a few years. That could lead to meetings in the playoffs.
It’s really not a rivalry until the playoffs get involved. The Blue Jackets and Red Wings don’t figure to see each other in the opening round of the playoffs since they are fighting for wildcards. But 2-3 years down the road, it could happen.
This week will give fans a preview of what Blue Jackets/Red Wings games will be like. Expect the intensity and physical tone to be turned up several degrees. Both teams know what’s at stake.
The second game being outdoors could take on a life of its own. Seeing the same team in consecutive games usually breeds animosity. That animosity will be shared with potentially over 90,000 fans at Ohio Stadium. It has the makings of being one of the better atmospheres for a game in recent memory.
It’s possible one or both of the Blue Jackets and Red Wings miss the playoffs by a small margin. If so, they might look back at this week as being a key reason for that. If one helped knock out the other, that too will start escalating things towards a rivalry.
Geographic Factor
Nationwide Arena and Little Caesars Arena are separated by about 200 miles. Any part of a good rivalry involves the geographic aspect.
Then factor in the Michigan/Ohio State part and you have the elements needed to eventually see a full-fledged rivalry born in hockey. The Blue Jackets and Red Wings used to be in the Western Conference together. Some saw this as a rivalry.
But with the Red Wings dominating the Blue Jackets early on, it didn’t reach rivalry status. It could be different this time.
Both teams have young, highly-skilled players. Both team’s window of contention is just starting to crack open after being closed shut for a while. Fans of both teams can easily make the three-hour trip to either city to help create the atmosphere during the games.
Starting to feel like home. #CBJ #StadiumSeries pic.twitter.com/vAtrHpk6X2
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 27, 2025
Add in that both teams have a desire to be the best. The ingredients are all there for the Blue Jackets and Red Wings to be the next great rivalry.
It’s going to take a lot of time to get there with several things needing to fall into place. But eventually, we may look back at this week’s two-game mini-series as a turning point in the building of this potential rivalry.
For now, both teams look to start off on the right foot by finding two huge points in the standings on Thursday night. Then we’ll see where the story of the Blue Jackets and Red Wings eventually take us.
Side Dishes
As for Thursday night’s game in Detroit, the expected goaltending matchup is Daniil Tarasov for the Blue Jackets and Cam Talbot for the Red Wings. The Blue Jackets are expected to use the same skaters as they did for Tuesday’s win against Dallas. Coach Dean Evason will meet with reporters later in the afternoon.
For Tarasov, it will be his first start since his win in Utah on Jan 31. This would indicate that Elvis Merzlikins would start Saturday in the Stadium Series.
The Blue Jackets’ mothers made the trip to Detroit. At the morning skate, they got to sit on the bench. Then before the skate began, the team took a picture with the mothers included.
Evason escorted Jane Gaudreau to center ice for the picture. They took a picture of the players and mothers together and then they took one of the players surrounding Jane. It was a touching moment before the team got to work preparing for Thursday night.