In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens collide at Bell Centre in an East-West tilt. This one will get going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 3 and it will be televised live on Reseau Des Sports.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds
Winnipeg is 49-30 straight up (SU) and has netted 12.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. 39 of its games have gone over the total, while 37 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Jets are 19-21 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Winnipeg has converted on 23.6 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for fourth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 12th overall, and it has successfully killed off 81.6 percent of all penalties.
Winnipeg, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box 3.9 times per game this season, and 4.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays 8.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Boasting a .922 save percentage and 28.2 saves per game, Connor Hellebuyck (42-23-9) has been the primary option in goal for Winnipeg this year. Hellebuyck played last night, however, so Winnipeg may decide to rest him and turn to Steve Mason instead (4-8-1 record, .906 save percentage, 3.18 goals against average).
Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Jets. Wheeler (89 points) has tallied 22 goals and 67 assists, and has recorded two or more points 24 times. Laine has 43 goals and 25 assists to his creditand has registered at least one point in 49 games.
On the other side of the ice, Montreal is 28-51 straight up (SU) and has lost 25.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. 42 of its matches have gone under the total, while 35 have gone over and just two have pushed. It’s 18-22 SU at home this year.
Montreal has converted on 21.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 30th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 74.3 percent of all penalties.
Montreal players have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, 3.8 per game over their past five games total, and 4.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties 12.4 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Carey Price (27.4 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for Montreal. Price has 16 wins, 31 losses, and six OT losses to his credit and has recorded a poor .902 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Brendan Gallagher (30 goals, 21 assists).
Winnipeg Jets at Montreal Canadiens Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Jets, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone over in three of Montreal’s last five games.
Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be extremely important in this one. The Jets are 21-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 32-19 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Canadiens are 11-14 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 20-32 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Two of Winnipeg’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 2-0 in those games and 4-2 overall in shootouts this season.
Montreal is ranked 15th overall with 7.2 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower, however, as it has created 6.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.2 takeaways over its last five.
Winnipeg has forced 6.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, its season average of 7.1 takeaways per game (ranked 18th in the league).
Winnipeg might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s an impressive 20-14 in one-goal games, while Montreal is only 10-16 in such games.
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