Two teams that’ve spent a lot of this season in the penalty box, the Winnipeg Jets and the Detroit Red Wings collide at Little Caesars Arena in an East-West showdown. The matchup will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, October 26, and fans at home will be able to catch it live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Detroit Red Wings Odds
Winnipeg is 6-4 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 0.5 units this season. Through 10 regular season contests, five of its games have gone under the total, while three have gone over and just two have pushed. This 2018-19 Jets team is 1-2 SU on the road.
Winnipeg has impressively converted on 32.1 percent of its power play opportunities thus far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last year, when it was ranked sixth in the NHL by scoring on 23.4 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has also gotten stronger since last year, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 81.0 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked 11th overall last year) to 82.9 percent this year.
Winnipeg, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.7 times per game during the 2018-19 season, a number that’s jumped some from last year’s 3.8 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for a whopping 15.6 minutes per matchup this season.
Averaging 29.4 saves per game with a .907 save percentage, Connor Hellebuyck (4-4-1) has been the primary option in goal for Winnipeg this season. If it decides to give him a rest, however, head coach Paul Maurice might turn to Laurent Brossoit (2-0 record, .955 save percentage, 2.01 goals against average).
Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Jets. Scheifele has 10 points on five goals and five assists, and has recorded two or more points in two different games. Connor has four goals and five assists to his creditand has logged a point in six games.
Detroit is 1-8 straight up (SU) and has already lost 6.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Five of its outings have gone over the total, while four have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 0-3 SU at home this year.
Detroit has scored on 24.1 percent of its power plays this year after converting on 17.5 percent (ranked 23rd in league) last season. It has killed off an impressive 80.6 percent of its penalties, compared to 77.6 percent in 2017-18 (when it was ranked 23rd in the NHL).
Detroit players have been penalized 5.2 times per game this season, a number that’s risen noticeably from the 3.7 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.0 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to kill penalties for a noteworthy 12.8 minutes per matchup this season.
Jimmy Howard (29.1 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for Detroit. Howard has one win, six losses, and two overtime losses to his credit and has recorded a mediocre 3.23 goals against average and a fairly-weak .907 save percentage this season.
The Wings will be led on offense by Dylan Larkin (four goals, three assists) and Gustav Nyquist (one goals, six assists).
Winnipeg Jets vs. Detroit Red Wings Betting Predictions
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Red Wings, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Notes
After winning five of its six shootouts last year, Detroit is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Winnipeg went 4-2 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
The total has gone over in three of Detroit’s last five outings.
Detroit has yet to win a game by two more more goals this season.
Winnipeg skaters registered 23.3 hits per game last season, while the Red Wings logged 19.6 hits per matchup.
*****
