NHL Hockey Betting: Winnipeg Jets at Detroit Red Wings

This has been a horrible year for Canadian hockey teams and the Winnipeg Jets have–along with the Calgary Flames–been the most disappointing. The Jets made the playoffs last year and hopes were high that they could at least compete for a postseason spot again this season despite the overall brutality of the Central Division. It hasn’t happened. The Jets are instead in a three way battle with Calgary and Edmonton for the worst record in the Western Conference. Winnipeg is currently tied for the basement with Edmonton at 59 points. Calgary is just ahead with 61 points. The Jets and Flames along with Eastern Conference bottom feeders Toronto are the only three teams in the league with fewer than 60 points at this juncture. The worst thing about the Jets freefall is how non-competitive they’ve been in most games. At 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and with 9 losses in their last 12 games there’s not much fight left in this Winnipeg team.

The Detroit Red Wings aren’t in great form either though they’re holding on to the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference–at least for now. The Wings have a two point advantage on Philadelphia and a four point advantage on Carolina. The problem is that they’re 3-5-2 in their last ten games and are coming off an embarrassing 5-3 loss to Columbus. Petr Mrazek will be back between the pipes for the Red Wings tonight after a horrible showing by Jimmy Howard against the Blue Jackets. Goaltending has been a mess for the Jets this year–the only bright spot has been the solid play of rookie Connor Hellebuyck who has played like a 22 year old rookie at times but shown flashes of excellence. He certainly hasn’t been intimidated by playing in the NHL and that bodes well for the future. Michael Hutchinson gets the start tonight and Ondrej Pavalec is back from injury. Hellebuyck is probably glad he’s back down with the Manitoba Moose at this point–the AHL team is likely more competitive than the Jets on a night to night basis.

Neither team worth much at the moment. The Jets have actually won 4 of the last 5 against Detroit including two straight in Motown. They had no problem with the Wings in a December game on their home ice. At any rate, the price is too high so the Jets are the value side.

BET WINNIPEG JETS +170 OVER DETROIT RED WINGS