Season Series: Jets 2-1 Utah
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
TV: Utah16; NHL Network
The Winnipeg Jets (52-20-4) remain on the road as they take on the Utah Hockey Club (34-30-12). This will be the fourth and final matchup of the season between the two Central Division teams. Winnipeg won the first 3-0, Utah claimed the second 5-2, then the Jets secured the third by the same score. Forward Kyle Connor will likely end up having a career year for Winnipeg. He had 93 points in 2021-2022, and he currently has 91 points (38 goals, 53 assists) in 76 games. The Jets are looking to finish first in the NHL and win the Presidents’ Trophy, while Utah wishes to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Winnipeg is on pace to have the best season in franchise history. Sitting first in the league, the Jets have 108 points, which is just six points shy of the 114 set in 2017-2018. The Jets are 7-3-0 in their last ten games, thanks to the stellar play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The 31-year-old has 43 wins this season, the second-most in his career and has a 2.03 SV% and a .924 GAA. Among all goaltenders, those numbers are the best. Winnipeg is atop the NHL standings, three points ahead of the Washington Capitals.
Hellebuyck won four of his last five starts and is the first key to victory for the Jets. The next key is the Winnipeg power-play, which is ranked second in the league at 29.4%. The Jets have struggled while on the man advantage, but it still has dangerous weapons. Connor and centre Mark Scheifele for example.
This is will a difficult one for Utah, who are 5-4-1 in their last ten games and still way below the playoff line. With just six games left in their season, Utah sits nine points behind the Minnesota Wild. With each passing day, playoffs become less likely in the franchise’s first year. The first key to victory for Utah is goaltender Karel Vejmelka. This will be Vejmelka’s 20th consecutive start, as his workload greatly increased with Connor Ingram in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
Utah Hockey Club Forward’s Resurgence Keeping Team in Playoff Hunt
Winnipeg is fourth in goals per game with 3.42, so he will need to make timely saves to give Utah a chance. The other key for Utah is their penalty kill, which is ninth at 81.1%. Utah is one of the more penalized teams, so the PK will need to step up if called upon. Utah should try not to give Winnipeg too many chances on the power-play.
Winnipeg is clearly among the favourites to win the 2025 Stanley Cup. In addition to a top-five offence and defence, they have the best goaltender. Utah is not a team that goes away easily, doing everything possible to stay in the wild card race. However, the Jets will take off in this one. Vejmelka (23-21-7) is the confirmed starter for Utah, while Hellebuyck (43-11-3) is expected to start for Winnipeg.
Prediction: Jets win 4-0
For some prop bet action, consider the following. Winnipeg is paying +172 to cover the spread, if we mix in anytime scorers, Dylan Guenther and Kyle Connor, the top likelihood in terms of odds for their respective squads, we land at an over 2K payout, get it.
Main Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio – Imagn Images
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