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By Dan Groob, TiqIQ
They don’t call Detroit Hockeytown for nothing. Wings fans certainly understand the importance of divisional play, which has taken on added importance this season with the lockout condensed scheduled. According to TiqIQ, Detroit Red Wings Tickets for a home game this year carries a average price of $97, which is up from $90 last season. Fittingly, four of the top five most expensive Wings games this season are against division rivals.
While this season figures to be a little more challenging for the Wings following the retirement of future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom, the team should be able to sneak into the playoffs if they can remain competitive in divisional play. This is certainly easier said than done however, given that the Central Division is the most difficult division in the NHL this season with four of the five teams having appeared in the playoffs last season.
The two priciest Wings games this year are the March 3rd and 31st contests against the Chicago Blackhawks. Currently, the average price for each of these games is $156 and $159 dollars respectively. The get-in price of $50 for these games is actually far higher than the average price for a handful of less notable matchups.
The third most expensive game for the Wings this year is a rematch of last season’s first round playoff matchup against Nashville on February 23rd. While the Predators bounced the Wings 4 games to 1 in that series, they have gotten off to a bit of a slow start so far this season with a league-leading three overtime losses in their first six games. Fans have been ponying up an average price of $129 dollars on the secondary market for the Nashville game, as overtime losses can be rather random and the Preds still figure to be one of the better teams in hockey.
Despite the overall rise in Red Wings ticket prices this year, fans can still take advantage of some fantastic midseason deals once the shine wears off the season and before the homestretch begins. The least expensive remaining game on the schedule this year is currently the February 5th contest against the Calgary Flames, which carries an average ticket price of $75 dollars, and a get-in price of just $13. A similarly low-priced game is the February 21st tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which will cost fans an average of $85 dollars.
However, the best values this season are probably the February 1st and 13th divisional matchups against the stingy St. Louis Blues. One of the best young teams in hockey, Ken Hitchcock’s Blues allowed a league-low 165 goals last season and have shown no signs of slowing down this year. While their defense-oriented style of play may have the casual fan disinterest, it is surprising to see relatively low prices for these games in Hockeytown, especially given that the April 7th meeting between these two teams is the 5th most expensive game of the year at an average of $119 dollars. Fans can catch the February 13th Blues game for an average of just $75 dollars, and $17 to get in the door. For the Wings fan that just can’t wait the extra two weeks, Friday’s contest carries an average ticket price of $93 dollars and a get-in price of $24, both of which are still below the Wings season average.
Remember, for the best deals on all NHL Tickets throughout the season, check out TiqIQ.com. TiqIQ has also teamed up with SeatCrunch to bring you additional deals on Detroit Red Wings Tickets