Connor Hellebuyck is the best goaltender in the world. Our expert NHL predictions expect the star goaltender to keep the Canucks in check tonight.
NHL
The Colorado Avalanche host the Winnipeg Jets in a Central Division tilt this evening.
Colorado is, by a significant margin, the best team in hockey, but my Jets vs. Avalanche predictions expect Winnipeg to keep this game close.
Read on for my NHL picks for Friday, December 19.
Jets vs Avalanche best bet: Jets +1.5 (-120)
There is no denying that the Colorado Avalanche are the best team in hockey. That said, there is one reason to believe the Winnipeg Jets can at least keep this game close: goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
Last season, Hellebuyck became the first goaltender to win the Hart Memorial Trophy since Carey Price a decade earlier. He also took home the Vezina Trophy, marking the third time he has won the award for best goaltender over the past six years.
Simply put, the Jets’ netminder is the best in the world. If anyone can limit Colorado’s damage, it is Hellebuyck.
In fact, he dominated the Avs last season. Over the past three games against Colorado, Hellebuyck is 3-0 with a nearly perfect .976 save percentage and a 0.67 goals-against average.
He produced two shutouts over that stretch, and he can surely keep Winnipeg in this game regardless of how overpowering this Avs team has been this year.
Winnipeg will also need some goal production if it is to keep this game close. Enter Gabriel Vilardi, who enters this contest in dominant form with 10 goals over his past 14 games.
There is also a strong correlation with Kyle Connor recording an assist, given that he skates alongside Vilardi on the first line and has assisted on each of Vilardi’s past five goals.
Winnipeg has won three of the past four meetings between these two teams. Find more NHL betting trends for Jets vs. Avalanche. Find more NHL betting trends for Jets vs. Avalanche.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Tony Sartori has written over 1,000 pieces of sports betting content across multiple different media outlets. He covers the NHL, UFC, PGA, NFL and MLB. Tony started part-time while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he went on to receive a B.A. in Economics and a certificate in Entrepreneurship in 2022. He continues to work full-time in the sports betting landscape.
Due to the variety of sports he covers, Tony is handicapping every day. If he had one piece of betting advice for a new sports bettor, it would be to strictly enforce bankroll management rules for yourself. If you set aside $10,000 for your betting bankroll, then you should generally only be betting between $100 – $500 per play.
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