Winnipeg Jets at New Jersey Devils

Betting Odds

Moneyline: New Jersey (-150)
Game Total Line: 5 Goals
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

Fresh off of a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders, the Jets (5-6-1) are beginning to show some life and more importantly they are demonstrating they can play like a team. Running on a two game win streak, the Jets head into New Jersey (5-5-1) winning three out of their last five while outscoring their opponents 17-14. Strong defensive play has been the key to the Jets success holding their opponents at a meager three goals against in the two losses. The Devils will hope to continue to right their own ship after beating the Flyers 4-3 to snap a three game losing skid that saw them outscored 16-14 in an unremarkable 2-3 record in their past five games.

This is the first meeting between the two clubs this season and the first ever as the reborn Winnipeg Jets and while Winnipeg is showing some diversity, they hobble into the Prudential Center without four of their defensive core (Enstrom – broken collarbone; Hainsey – upper body injury; Jones – foot injury; Meech – lower body injury) and Eric Fehr with a shoulder injury. With the injured defensemen accounting for an overall +4 for the year, the Jets have relied heavily on the stron play of their goaltending tandem of Chris Mason (1-2-0) and Ondrej Pavelec (4-4-1) with Pavelec recording the first shutout of the season against the Islanders with the team notching all three on even strength. The Jets registered four penalties against the Islanders which, with a conversion rate of 22.2% (5th in the league) could spell disaster against the Devils.

While only winning two of the last five games, the Devils showed a lot of character coming from behind 3-2 later in the third frame while staving off the Flyer power play (27th in the NHL) on four occasions while killing off a two man penalty kill in the first. Despite returning against Toronto, perennial all star Martin Brodeur watched from the bench which seems to create an ominous air around the Devils who are showing a defensive weakness with a goals against average of 2.91. To compound issues, the team may skate without Andy Green (day to day – lower body injury) and franchise forward Ilya Kovalchuk who is out indefinitely with a lower body injury. Elias has been coming on strong as of late and has chipped in with ten points so far in the season and Parise notching six. With fourteen penlty minutes registered last night, the Devils seem confident to rely on their penalty kill special team boasting a league leading 100% in Jersey.

Betting Game Pick

With the Jets showing a 3-4-1 record on the road and the Devils a 2-2-1 record at home, the teams stack up relatively equally at this stage of the season and despite a decent outing against Philadelphia, Brodeur is likely to start against the Jets. Watch for Brodeur to steal the show on this one as he, in his typical fashion, will show why he is a lock for the Hall of Fame and can still compete at this level. The Devils will need offensive support but their defense is what will win this for them.
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