NHL Hockey Betting: New Jersey Devils at Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets will try and generate some much needed momentum as the host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday evening. The Jets are currently in last place in the brutally tough Central Division and have lost their last two games. In their last ten games they’re 4-5-1 and coming off a lopsided 4-1 home loss to the Nashville Predators. Offense has been a problem for the Jets during their recent downturn. Winnipeg has scored only a single goal in five of their last seven games with only one of those games showing a Jets tally of more than two. Throw out a 5-4 shootout against Nashville on January 14th and they’re averaging 1.16 goals in their last six games. That’s not going to get it done especially when they’re not getting the work done on the defensive end. With starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec out indefinitely due to a knee injury and his presumptive backup Michael Hutchinson playing ineffectively the bulk of the work of late has gone to rookie Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck has put up credible numbers–particularly given his rookie status–with a record of 11-8-1, a 2.06 goals against average and a 0.930 save percentage. he’ll get the start here tonight against the Devils’ Corey Schneider who has very similar stats albeit with a much heavier workload (40 games started).
The Devils have become a very dangerous team and have won three straight and four of their last six games. Washington has run away with the Metropolitan Division but the Devils are right in the mix of the remaining playoff aspirants. The Rangers are currently in second place with 57 points but the Devils are just 4 points back in fourth. They’re currently tied for the final NHL wild card spots with Boston and Pittsburgh though with the Atlantic Division teams holding the tiebreaker they’d be the last team out were the season to end today. As for the Capitals, they’re 16 points ahead of the second place Rangers and a full twenty points up on the Devils. They way they’ve been playing no one is catching them.
Winnipeg has won four of the last five meetings head to head including the last two at home but at this stage the Devils look like the better team. They do have a big game against Pittsburgh on deck but with three games before that game they should have plenty of focus here.
BET NEW JERSEY DEVILS +125 OVER WINNIPEG JETS
