NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Red Wings vs. Jets

Red Wings vs. Jets Odds

Regulation losses in three of Winnipeg's last five games have opened the door for Calgary, which now sits just two points back of the Jets with each having played 75 games.

Winnipeg is a heavy -250 favorite to get right Friday and take advantage of the visiting Red Wings, who are skating in Game 2 of a back-to-back.

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Detroit Red Wings

Detroit has put together an impressive week thus far, as it bounced back with wins at home over the Penguins and Red Wings.

It has quietly played a very sound game down the stretch and has managed an xGF% of 51.04 with notably strong performances versus playoff teams over the last 10 games.

Counting on Detroit simply to roll over in this spot could be a little foolish. The Red Wings have been playing competitive hockey, which has been hidden by middling goaltending and an inability to finish.

Detroit has played to a 4-6-1 record in back-to-backs and has allowed an average of 30.4 shots on goal in those contests.

Magnus Hellberg will start in goal for Detroit. He has quietly been the Wings' best option, playing to a -0.3 GSAx and .898 save percentage in 16 games this season.

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg's dreadful 7-12-2 run has made the playoffs far from a sure thing. That's disappointing for a team that once looked very balanced and could've served as a legitimate cup contender.

Connor Hellebuyck has stumbled down the stretch after being consistently relied upon heavily, which has been somewhat of a theme for the Jets in recent seasons.

Jets coach Rick Bowness called out his top stars after the team's shutout loss to the Sharks, critiquing that a number of them had been giving all they had to offer to the team.

He's now clearly offering those stars a chance to shine, as he has stacked Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Mark Scheifele on a loaded unit at even strength.

Winnipeg has consistently shuffled the top three even-strength units in a search for offense this season, but when together this season, the trio of Connor, Dubois and Scheifele has been extremely effective.

In 46.5 minutes together at even strength, they've played to a 59.2% xGF and generated 3.74 expected goals for per 60 minutes.

The move could especially pay dividends at home, where Bowness can look to give the trio a ton of favorable offensive zone starts to do damage.

Hellebuyck should start in goal for Winnipeg. He has played to a +22.0 GSAx rating and .917 save percentage in 58 appearances.

Red Wings vs. Jets Pick

There are enough concerns surrounding Winnipeg that I'm not entirely sold on backing it at -250 — although it is hard to see the Jets dropping this contest, especially on home ice where it has played significantly better.

Detroit has quietly been generating a very respectable number of looks offensively, and that scares me a bit considering this massive number and the fact that Hellebuyck has not been incredibly strong recently.

I'm looking for Winnipeg to generate a wealth of scoring chances itself in this matchup with the newly-formed top unit leading the way.

Scheifele is very quietly still chasing down a 40-goal season with 38 so far, and I see this as a good buy-low spot for him to record a goal at +182 in a high-quality matchup.

While a Scheifele goal is my favorite prop from Winnipeg's top line, a case could be made for a number of props involving Scheifele, Connor and Dubois.

Hellberg, meanwhile, is priced at -108 to record over 28.5 saves, which is another angle I'm happy to play in this matchup. Detroit's quietly sound defensive play keeps that number down at 28.5, but I believe Winnipeg can still carry far more of the play and generate 35-plus shots in this spot.

Pick: Mark Scheifele to Score a Goal (+182) · Magnus Hellberg Over 29.5 Saves