Getting their final head-to-head meeting of the season out of the way early in the year, the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers take the ice at Rogers Place for a Western Conference tilt. The action gets started at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 31 and it’s being shown live on RSN.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers Odds
Edmonton (-145) is currently favored over Winnipeg (+125) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting that total sit at -105 money on the over and -115 for the under.
Winnipeg is 22-17 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 4.2 units this season. 21 of its matches have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Jets team is 8-13 SU on the road.
Winnipeg has converted on 23.4 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked 19th in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 80.4 percent of its penalties.
The Jets, as a collective unit, have been sent to the penalty box 4.1 times per game overall during the 2017-18 season, and 3.0 per game over its past five contests. The team has had to kill penalties just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .921 save percentage and 27.3 saves per game, Connor Hellebuyck (20-11-5) has been the best option in goal for Winnipeg this year. If head coach Paul Maurice decides to rest him, however, Winnipeg may turn to Steve Mason (2-8-1 record, .899 save percentage, 3.47 goals against average).
The visiting Jets have relied on Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele this year. Wheeler has 44 points via 10 goals and 34 assists, and has recorded two or more points 11 times. Scheifele has 15 goals and 23 assists to his credit, and has logged at least one point in 21 games.
On the other side of the rink, Edmonton is 17-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 38 regular season matches, 19 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just one has pushed. This season, the team is 8-11 SU as the home team.
The Oilers have converted on just 17.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 32nd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 72.7 percent of all penalties.
Edmonton players have been penalized 4.0 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 7.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cam Talbot has stopped 26.6 shots per game as the primary selection in goal for the Oilers. Talbot has 14 wins, 14 losses, and two OT losses to his name and has registered a fairly-weak .906 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Connor McDavid (14 goals, 31 assists).
Winnipeg Jets at Edmonton Oilers Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Jets, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes
Five of Edmonton’s last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals, and the club is 4-1 overall in those games.
The Jets are 11-5 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 13-9 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
The total has gone over in three of Edmonton’s last five outings.
Edmonton skaters have averaged 16.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 12.2 giveaways per game (ranked 28th overall).
Winnipeg is ranked 18th this season with 9.9 giveaways per game. That figure has trended higher, as it’s averaged 10.7 giveaways over its last 10 games and 13.2 giveaways over its last five.
The Oilers this season have tallied the most hits in the NHL (27.1 per game).
