NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Bruins vs Jets (Friday, December 22)
Pictured: Gabriel Vilardi. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
Bruins vs. Jets Odds
| Bruins Odds | -125 |
| Jets Odds | +105 |
| Over / Under | 5.5 -120 / +100 |
Two of the NHL's top teams will go head-to-head Friday as the Winnipeg Jets host the Boston Bruins.
The Jets are 2-0-1 on their current homestand and will be looking to close out their pre-holiday schedule on another high note. The Bruins are coming off a pair of overtime losses on home ice, and head west for back-to-back road games before they shut down for the holiday break.
The Bruins skate into Winnipeg as the favorites, but there's good reason to back the surging Jets at plus money in this matchup. Continue reading for my full prediction for Bruins vs. Jets.
The Bruins have points in eight of their past nine games and remain near the top of the league standings. However, they're not dominating their opponents as their past four games have all gone beyond 60 minutes — three overtime losses and one shootout win.
They've won 19 of their 30 games this season, but their puck possession game at 5-on-5 is average, controlling 50.26% of expected goals. And even though David Pastrnak is up at the top of the scoring race (19 goals, 43 points), Boston isn't getting much secondary scoring. Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle are the only other players with at least 10 goals, and the team is averaging a pedestrian 3.17 goals per game.
The defense is still a strength and Jeremy Swayman has reached a new level in net as he's tied with Vegas' Adin Hill for second in the league with 12.6 goals saved above expected. The Bruins are closing out their pre-Christmas schedule with back-to-back road games, also playing Saturday in Minnesota, so if Jim Montgomery continues his usual pattern of alternating his stoppers, Swayman should get the nod against the Jets.
Just three points behind the Bruins in the standings, the Jets also have points in eight of their past nine. They've won seven of those games outright and dished out multi-goal defeats to the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings during the first three games of this homestand.
The Jets are in a similar spot to Boston in terms of their puck possession game, controlling 50.38% of expected goals at 5-on-5. New acquisition Gabriel Vilardi has stepped up with 10 points in his past four games after top sniper Kyle Connor was knocked out of action with a knee injury.
Special teams remain a weakness as Winnipeg has just one power-play goal in its past eight games, and had given up at least one goal while shorthanded in five straight games before snapping that streak in its 5-2 win over the Red Wings on Wednesday.
The Jets' defensive game is on par with Boston's. Connor Hellebuyck is impressing with 10.8 goals saved above expected and Winnipeg does a good job of limiting opponents' opportunities with just 28.9 shots against per game. That's sixth-lowest in the league, while Boston's 32.2 is seventh-highest.
Bruins vs. Jets
Betting Pick & Prediction
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The Bruins had their way with the Jets last season, but Friday could be a different tale. For as well as Swayman has been playing, the skaters in front of him have struggled to provide support and the Bruins haven't been putting opponents away. Meanwhile, the Jets have hit their stride and Vilardi picking up the offensive slack in Connor's absence could propel Winnipeg right past Boston.
Pick: Jets Moneyline (+106 at FanDuel) | Play to -105
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