NHL Hockey Betting: Winnipeg Jets at Detroit Red Wings

Three games scheduled for Friday in the NHL but as of Thursday night two of them are off the board. In the only game with a betting line at the moment the Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings will go at it at the Joe Louis Arena. Both teams are trying to snap losing streaks. The Red Wings got off to a great start this season winning 6 of their first 8 games but are 0-2-1 since. They’re now tied with Tampa Bay for third place in the Atlantic Division with 13 points, one point ahead of the Boston Bruins. The Winnipeg Jets are in the middle of a crowded pack of teams in the Central Division. They’re currently in fourth place 3 points back of the third place St. Louis Blues. Winnipeg has lost three straight games dropping a 3-1 home decision to Buffalo and losing a pair of one goal games to the Washington Capitals.

These teams have very divergent problems but in the end they’ve produced losses. The Jets have had problems on offense. They’ve lost 7 games this season scoring a total of 12 goals for an average of 1.71 goals per game in this stretch. Overall they’re averaging 2.40 goals per game for #23 on in the NHL. They haven’t been particularly dominant on defense either as they’re giving up an average of 2.90 goals per game for #19 in the league.

Detroit, meanwhile, has played good defense for most of the year but are now tied for #12 allowing 2.55 goals per game. The defense has taken a ‘leave of absence’ lately allowing a total of 9 goals in their previous two games. Offensively, the Wings are in the middle of the pack ranked #16 in goals per game (2.73). In most cases, it’s a good idea to take the Western Conference team in interconference games between fairly evenly matched teams. This game is kind of an anomaly as Detroit has been profitable against the Western Conference in recent years while Winnipeg has lost over 13 units against the Eastern Conference. Winnipeg played an overtime game at Washington last night while the Red Wings were idle and that certainly won’t help things. The situation looks favorable for the Wings to end their losing streak here.

BET DETROIT RED WINGS -165 OVER WINNIPEG JETS