Winnipeg Jets vs Boston Bruins - Odds and Predictions

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA.

When: Thursday, January 9, 7 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): TVA, TSN3, NESN | WFAN

Winnipeg Jets (Away)

Head Coach: Paul Maurice{All-Time 718-635-99-120 WPG, CAR, TOR, HAR}

Currently, fourth in the Central Division, the Winnipeg Jets have been a bit of a roller coaster lately. They have gone 3-5-2 in their last ten games and this game against Boston will be game two of a back-to-back that included a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs last evening.

Read also: Who are the 2020 Stanley Cup Favorites?

Offense

Winnipeg has remained a mostly middle-of-the-pack team this season, ranking mostly at the mid-tier level in most statistics.

The team has scored a combined 118 goals this season, which ranks them 18th in the league.

They rank 19th in the league when it comes to shots on goal and have the 14th-highest shooting percentage at 9.8 percent.

Winnipeg has been finding success on the power play, however. The Jets have the NHL’s 13th-best power play, currently sitting with a 20.31 percent and 26 power-play goals.

Defense

Like their offense, the defense for Winnipeg has had its ups and downs all season. There is good and there is very bad. The Jets have allowed the 13th-fewest goals against this season and the team has a combined save percentage of .909 – the tenth-best in the league.

However, the Jets have allowed the seventh-most shots against this season and average an allowance of more than 33 shots against per game.

Their penalty killing has also been abysmal. Currently, the Jets sit dead last in the NHL with a 72.22 penalty-killing percentage. That does not bode well for them going up against a team like Boston.

Goaltending

Goaltender Lauren Brossoit is expected to get the start for Winnipeg Thursday night. Brossoit has a record of 4-4-0 this season. His goals-against average is 3.51 and he has a save percentage of .889.

Head Coach: Bruce Cassidy{All-Time 189-107-9-40 BOS, WSH}

The Bruins continue to dominate this season. They are in first place in the Atlantic division and have yet to hit double-digit losses in regulation. Their season record sits at 25-8-11 even though some of their offensive production has dipped.

Offense

The Boston Bruins have scored the sixth-most goals in the NHL with 146. Forwards David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand rank fourth and fifth in the league for scoring 52 goals amongst themselves.

At the time of writing, Boston also had the league’s third-best power play. With a 27.46 percent, the Bruins have scored 39 power-play goals this season.

The Boston Bruins also have the sixth-best shooting percentage in the league – 10.6 percent to be exact.

Defense

The Boston Bruins have allowed the second-fewest goals against this season with 107.

Even though they have allowed the 16th-most shots against, the goaltending has stood up.

To go along with their amazing power play, the Boston Bruins also have the second-best penalty kill in the league, sitting at 84.96 percent. They have allowed only 20 power-play goals against.

Boston’s biggest issue is the amount of penalties they take. Known as a bruising team, Boston averages 8.7 minutes per game – the 20th worst percentage in the NHL.

Beyond that, the team’s goaltending has been on fire as the team’s combined save percentage sits at .922 (the third-best in the league) and they have five shutouts (the most in the NHL).

Goaltending

Expect to see all-star goalie Tuukka Rask in net Thursday for the Boston Bruins. Rask has put together a season record of 16-4-6 with a GAA of 2.29 and a .924 save percentage. He has two shutouts thus far this season.

This is the first meeting between these two teams this season. Last year on March 14, it was the Winnipeg Jets who came out victorious, handing the Bruins a 4-3 loss.

This is Boston’s game to lose. They are first in their division and have all the tools to decimate the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets are also weak in all facets of the game that Boston is strong. It’s not impossible, but the Jets beating the Bruins at this stage of the season is highly unlikely.

Questions to Answer

Will the Winnipeg Jets be able to take advantage of Boston penchant for taking penalties? Can they utilize the man-advantage against a goaltender like Tuukka Rask?

Alternatively, will the Bruins completely dismantle the Winnipeg Jets on the power play? The Jets have the league’s worst penalty-killing percentage and the Bruins have the league’s third-best power play.

How will Winnipeg Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit fare against a dominant team like the Boston Bruins in just his ninth game of the season?

Winnipeg Jets Injury Report

F Bryan Little – DL (ear)

D Dustin Byfuglien – OUT (suspension)

D Dmitry Kulikov – DL (upper-body)

F Mark Letestu – DL (illness)

D Nathan Beaulieu – DL (lower-body)

Boston Bruins Injury Report

D Kevan Miller – IR/NR (kneecap)

F Joakim Nordstrom – day-to-day (illness)

F Anton Blidh – IR/NR (shoulder)

D Connor Clifton – DL (upper-body)

The latest odds for the Jets vs Bruins are provided by Unibet NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook, and 888Sport NJ.

Money Line