The St. Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets battle at Bell MTS Place in Game 1 of the NHL postseason’s opening round. This Central Division matchup gets started at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 10, and it can be caught live on NHL, RSN, FSMW and TVA3.
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets Odds
St. Louis (-105) is playing the role of underdog to Winnipeg (-115) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -105 money on the over and -115 on the under.
Netting 0.9 units for moneyline bettors, the Jets are 47-35 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, the best in the Central Division so far in this young season, is a slide from what the team recorded during last year’s regular season (52-30). Among its 82 games this season, 41 have gone over the total, while 34 have gone under and just seven have pushed. The team’s 25-16 SU at home this year.
Winnipeg has been able to convert on 24.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for fifth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.1 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Winnipeg has been penalized 3.7 times per game overall this season, and 2.8 per game over its last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays for just 7.9 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
With a .913 save percentage and 29.7 saves per game, Connor Hellebuyck (34-29-3) has been the best goalkeeper for the Jets this year. If the Jets decide to rest him, however, head coach Paul Maurice may turn to Laurent Brossoit (13-8-8 record, .925 save percentage, 2.52 goals against average).
Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele will each lead the charge for the Jets. Wheeler (91 points) has tallied 20 goals and 71 assists and has recorded two or more points on 22 separate occasions this year. Scheifele has 38 goals and 46 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 46 games.
St. Louis has netted 1.8 units for moneyline bettors this season and is currently 45-37 straight up (SU). Through 82 regular season outings, 43 of its games have gone under the total, while 34 have gone over and just five have pushed. St. Louis’ 21-20 SU as the visiting team this season.
St. Louis has scored on 21.1 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
St. Louis’ players have been called for penalties only 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 2.3 per game over their past ten match ups. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 4.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen (25.1 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for St. Louis. Allen has 19 wins, 27 losses, and eight OT losses to his credit, while registering a .905 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average this year.
Ryan O’Reilly (28 goals, 49 assists) has been one of the primary playmaking threats for the visiting Blues.
St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Jets, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- Penalties and power plays may be key in this game. The Blues are 21-19 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 33-25 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Jets are 22-14 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 29-25 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Winnipeg has created 6.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.6 takeaways per game (ranked 16th in the league).
- St. Louis is ranked ninth in the league with 8.4 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward, as the team has managed 10.3 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.0 takeaways over its last five.
