NHL Betting: Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild
Two teams that are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive battle in St. Paul, Minnesota tonight as the Winnipeg Jets take on the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are in pretty good shape at the moment–they have 96 points and hold on to the top Western Conference wildcard spot. They’re in fourth place in the rugged Central Division with a four point lead over Winnipeg in the division and a four point lead over the Jets and the Los Angeles Kings in the wildcard standings. Stranger things have happened, but it would take a bizarre turn of events to keep them out of the NHL postseason at this point.
The Jets are up against the wall. They have 92 points which leaves them in a tie with the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings for the final wild card spot in the West. The Kings have the tiebreaker, however, meaning that at the moment Winnipeg is on the outside looking in. They don’t have to worry much about the competition below them since the San Jose Sharks are realistically out of the running (though mathematically they’re still alive). The Jets have been playing well with a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games. The problem is that the teams they’re chasing are also playing well leaving them hard pressed to pick up any ground. The Wild are 7-3-0 in their last 10 but have lost their last two. The Kings are 6-3-1 in their last ten games.
Working in favor of Winnipeg–the Wild have a nasty schedule down the stretch. After this game they’ll play their final three on the road against St. Louis, Chicago and Nashville. Minnesota may catch a break if the playoff seedings are settled prior to any of these games but with the top three teams in the Central separated by a combined three points that’s not likely. Winnipeg plays on the road at St. Louis and Colorado and home against Calgary. Not an easy schedule to be sure but definitely not as tough as the Wild’s.
Minnesota and Winnipeg have split their four meetings this season with each winning once on enemy ice. We’ll go with the home team.
BET MINNESOTA WILD -140 OVER WINNIPEG JETS
