The Pepsi Center will be hosting a Central Division tilt as the Winnipeg Jets take the ice against the Colorado Avalanche. The action gets started at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 2, and it’ll be shown live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche Odds
Winnipeg heads into the matchup as the heavy favorite with a -140 moneyline. The line for Colorado sits at +120, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Winnipeg is 23-17 straight up (SU) and has earned 5.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 21 of its outings have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and just two have pushed. As a road team this season, the Jets are 9-13 SU.
Winnipeg has converted on 24.3 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.7 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Winnipeg has been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over its last five contests. The teams been forced to defend opponent power plays just 6.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.5 saves per game with a .923 save percentage, Connor Hellebuyck (21-11-5) has been the top option in goal for Winnipeg this year. If Winnipeg decides to rest him, however, they may roll with Steve Mason (2-8-1), who has a .899 save percentage and 3.47 goals against average this year.
The visiting Jets have relied heavily on Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele this season. Wheeler has 45 points on 11 goals and 34 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 12 different games. Scheifele has 15 goals and 23 assists to his name (and has logged a point in 21 games).
On the other side of the ice, Colorado is 19-19 straight up (SU) and has netted 3.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 38 regular season contests, 23 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and just one has pushed. The teams 12-8 SU at home this season.
Colorado has converted on 19.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.9 percent of all penalties.
Colorado players have been sent to the penalty box 4.3 times per game in total this season, and 3.4 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 9.0 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
Semyon Varlamov (28.8 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for Colorado. Varlamov has 13 wins, 12 losses, and two OT losses to his name and has registered a mediocre 2.94 goals against average and a subpar .909 save percentage this year.
The home team offense will be led by Nathan MacKinnon (16 goals, 30 assists).
Winnipeg Jets vs. Colorado Avalanche Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The total has gone over in three of Colorado’s last five games.
- The Jets are 12-5 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 14-9 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Colorado is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Winnipeg is 1-1 in shootouts.
- Colorado is ranked 16th with 7.3 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it has created 5.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.0 takeaways over its last five.
- Winnipeg has allowed 2.8 goals per game overall this season, but has gotten that figure down 1.7 per contest over the teams three-game winning streak.
- Winnipeg is ranked 19th in the league with 6.9 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as the team has created 7.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.6 takeaways over its last five.
