by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
The Winnipeg Jets’ head-to-head trend against the Vancouver Canucks and their seeming ability to cover up for their defensive deficiencies suggest they can avoid starting a losing streak. The visiting Jets are at -105 and the host Canucks sit at -115 with a 6.0-goal total on the NHL odds for Friday at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the Jets are 13-2 against the Canucks with the total finishing UNDER in 10 of the 15 matchups at sports betting sites. Winnipeg is also 7-4 in its last 11 away matchups against Canadian teams, with the total finishing UNDER seven times. Vancouver is 6-5 in its last 11 home games against Canadian teams, with a 5-5-1 split on the OVER/UNDER.
Jets vs Canucks | OddsShark Matchup Report
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The Jets are 9-6-1 after a 3-2 defeat at Edmonton on Wednesday, but have not gone two games in a row without earning a point this season. Their forward corps, led by Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor, will be trying to pivot from a defeat where they earned edges in scoring chances (23-14) and high-danger chances (5-2) in the five-on-five phase to a matchup against Vancouver, which allows high-danger chances at the worst rate in the NHL. (All advanced stats are from five-on-five play only.)
Winnipeg ranks 20th in the 31-team NHL in their share of shots for (48.8 percent), as well as 29th in expected goals-for percentage (45.0) and 30th in share of high-danger chances (42.4), according to Natural Stat Trick. The Jets are seventh in goal scoring (3.44 per game) and 15th in goals against (2.81), while boasting the 13th-ranked power play (23.1 percent) and 14th-ranked penalty killing unit (80.0).
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Connor Hellebuyck, who has a 7-5-1 record with a 2.61 goals-against average and .916 save percentage, is the Jets’ likely starting goaltender. Hellebuyck is 7-2-0 with a 1.56 GAA and .949 save percentage in nine career games against Vancouver.
The Canucks are 8-11-1, and are coming off of a 5-1 victory against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday where their first two lines scored all five goals, even though the entire team’s expected goals-for percentage was 48.7. The Canucks’ Elias Pettersson-J.T. Miller-Brock Boeser trio is one of the most proficient lines in the NHL, but they likely face a tough matchup against Winnipeg’s Paul Stastny-Connor-Ehlers unit. Bo Horvat’s line with wingers Tanner Pearson and Nils Hoglander is also coming off back-to-back strong efforts in Vancouver’s last two outings.
Vancouver ranks 21st in the NHL in share of shots for (48.7 percent), as well as 26th in both expected goals-for percentage (47.4) and share of high-danger chances (46.3). The Canucks are 15th in goal scoring (3.05 per game) and 30th in goals against (3.60), while boasting the 20th-ranked power play (17.1 percent) and 11th-ranked penalty killing unit (82.3).
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Thatcher Demko, who is 4-6-1 with a 3.52 GAA and .895 save percentage, backed the Canucks to a 4-1 road win in Winnipeg in the teams’ last matchup on Jan. 30. He is also rested. Braden Holtby also stopped 35-of-36 shots in Vancouver’s last outing, improving his season statline to a 4-5-0 record with a 3.44 GAA and .896 save percentage.
The teams have a rematch on Sunday. The Jets’ next series is a two-game home set against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 25 and 27.