In a game featuring two of the league’s top penalty-kill units, the Winnipeg Jets and the New Jersey Devils face off at the Prudential Center. This East-West matchup gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 1 and it will be showcased live on MSG Plus 2.
Winnipeg Jets vs. New Jersey Devils Odds
Playing the role of favorite will be Winnipeg (-135), whereas New Jersey is an underdog showing moneyline odds of +115,, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under).
Winnipeg is 14-10 straight up (SU) and has earned 0.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. 10 of its games have gone over the total, while another 10 have gone under and just four have pushed. This 2018-19 Jets team is 5-5 SU on the road.
Winnipeg currently has the second-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s found the net on 29.7 percent of its extra-man advantages this season. Its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.3 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Winnipeg has been penalized 4.3 times per game in the 2018-19 season, and 5.0 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.6 saves per game with a .904 save percentage, Connor Hellebuyck (10-9-1) has been the primary option in goal for Winnipeg this season. If Winnipeg chooses to rest him, however, the team might roll with Laurent Brossoit (4-2-1), who has a .937 save percentage and 2.05 goals against average this year.
The visiting Jets have relied on Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele this season. Wheeler (32 points) is up to four goals and 28 assists, and has recorded two or more points in eight different games. Scheifele has 13 goals and 16 assists to his creditand has logged at least one point in 16 games.
Over on the other bench, New Jersey is 9-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. 13 of its games have gone over the total, while eight have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 7-4 SU at home this season.
New Jersey has converted on 19.0 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.5 percent of all penalties.
New Jersey players have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Keith Kinkaid has stopped 27.3 shots per game as the primary option in goal for New Jersey. Kinkaid has nine wins, 11 losses, and four overtime losses to his credit and has maintained a pedestrian 2.79 goals against average and a subpar .910 save percentage this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Taylor Hall (seven goals, 19 assists).
Winnipeg Jets vs. New Jersey Devils Free Picks
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Devils, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
For both of these teams, the over has hit in four of their last five matchups.
The Devils are 4-8 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Jets are 4-6 SU in games where they serve more minutes than their opponent.
New Jersey has averaged 11.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 9.1 takeaways per game (ranked 6th).
Winnipeg has averaged 6.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 7.0 takeaways per game (ranked 19th).
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