The Winnipeg Jets head down to the desert to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on November 2nd, and look to hand the Golden Knights their first home regulation loss of the season.
The Golden Knights came out swinging this season, and have barely stumbled at all. In the middle of their six-game home stand, they are 9-0-1 on the season and show no signs of slowing down. They are the favourites to win their showdown against the Jets at -145.
The Jets, meanwhile, are a middling team still struggling to find their footing on the season. At 4-3-2 on the season, they technically have lost more games than they have won, and currently sport a -2 goal differential.
Connor Hellebyuck is sporting an uncharacteristic 0.898 SV% so far this season and has surrendered 3 goals in his last 2 games. While all signs point to him turning it around at some point this season, it’s hard to imagine that it will be against the potent Vegas offence.
At the other end of the rink, Aidin Hill is boasting a 0.923 SV%, and a 2.11 GAA. Hill’s numbers look great, but Winnipeg hasn’t had too much trouble scoring by committee yet this season.
The Golden Knights have three players with 10 or more points (Karlsson, Theodore, Eichel) and they’ll look to pile on the points against a struggling Winnipeg team. It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see there be more than 6 goals scored in this contest, and the Over 6 odds sit at -105.
Kyle Connor has been a shot machine, and his shooting percentage is still relatively high, even though he has 37 shots. Goals are coming easy for Connor, and shots even more so. His Over/Under shots on goal on BetRegal.ca is 3.5 at +106 on the over.
On the other side of the puck, Jack Eichel has an astonishing 45 shots on goal so far this season, which is good for 2nd in the league. While his shot percentage is lower (6.7%) he is showing no signs of suppressing his shot totals. Look for him to shoot around his average of 4.5 a game, and maybe more, considering the Winnipeg defence he is playing against.
A couple of years ago, this game would have been a real clash of the titans. With the Jets being a middling team going against this juggernaut Golden Knights team, you might think it would be a slam dunk for Vegas. However, according to NHL EDGE, the Jets have the highest average speed amongst their team at 23.95 MPH which could be tough for Vegas’s bigger defencemen to get a hold of.
As +124 underdogs, the Jets won’t roll over that easily against a Vegas team that has a target on their backs all season as the defending Cup champs.
