Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, and the Winnipeg Jets will do battle against Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in an East-West tilt. This one gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, January 4 and it’s being shown live on The Sports Network.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
The Penguins (-130) are being labeled as the favorites over the Jets (+110), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been placed at 7 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Winnipeg is 25-14 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 39 regular season outings, 19 of its games have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just four have pushed. The Jets are 12-6 SU on the road in 2018-19.
Winnipeg comes into the match up with the third-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s found the net on 28.1 percent of its extra-man chances this season. Its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 81.4 percent of all penalties..
Averaging 27.7 saves per game with a .908 save percentage, Connor Hellebuyck (17-13-1) has been the top option in goal for Winnipeg this season. If it decides to give him a rest, however, Winnipeg might turn to Laurent Brossoit (8-2-1 record, .939 save percentage, 2.11 goals against average).
Pittsburgh is 22-18 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. 18 of its matches have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and just five have pushed. This season, the team is 11-9 SU at home.
The Penguins have converted on 27.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that places it in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.9 percent of all opponent power plays.
Casey DeSmith (27.2 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for the Penguins. DeSmith has 12 wins, 13 losses, and four OT losses to his name and has maintained a 2.40 goals against average and a .926 save percentage this year.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Jets, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Six of Pittsburgh’s last ten games have been decided by two or more goals, and the team is 5-1 overall in those games.
- The Jets are 13-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 16-9 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
- Pittsburgh is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Winnipeg is 1-1 in shootouts.
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five matchups.
- Winnipeg has averaged 7.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 9.4 giveaways per game (ranked 14th overall).
- Pittsburgh is ranked 14th this season with 9.3 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as the team’s averaged 8.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.8 giveaways over its last five.
- The Penguins this season have handed the second-most hits in the league (29.4 per game), but the club has averaged 33.2 over their past five games as the home team.
