Jets Look To Beat Up On Collapsing Canucks

The Winnipeg Jets (9-3-4) skate into Vancouver to take on the Canucks (5-10-2) on Friday night at Rogers Arena. The Jets will look to extend their four-game point streak while the Canucks have lost an NHL-worst five straight contests.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Jets opened as the favorites at -120 on the moneyline with the Canucks coming in at +100 as the underdog. The total was set at 6 goals with the UNDER going 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between the two teams. Winnipeg is 7-3-0 in its last 10 games against Vancouver.

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Winnipeg News & Notes

The Jets had their three-game win streak snapped on Thursday, though they managed to pick up a point in their 2-1 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolaj Ehlers scored the only goal of the game for Winnipeg while Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves in a losing effort.

Kyle Connor has had a blazing start to the season, leading Winnipeg with 12 goals and 20 points. Andrew Copp has been a pleasant surprise as well with 5-11-16 through 16 games.

Paul Stastny (foot) has missed the last five games and won’t be making his return against the Canucks on Friday.

Vancouver News & Notes

Vancouver has gone into full-on panic mode over the past few days as the Canucks have tumbled to 28th overall in the NHL standings. They dropped their fifth straight contest on Wednesday in a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Tucker Poolman (1-1-2) and Conor Garland (1-0-1) scored for Vancouver while goaltender Thatcher Demko saved 26 of 29 shots in the loss.

JT Miller (7-11-18) and Quinn Hughes (2-12-14) have been two of the only bright spots on the team this season, while No. 1 center Elias Pettersson (3-6-9) has struggled to produce much offense. Offseason addition Oliver Ekman-Larsson (1-2-3) has yet to make the impact that fans were hoping for, while Demko has regressed, posting a 3.31 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage over 13 appearances.

How Winnipeg Will Win

The Jets will be licking their chops going into Friday night’s contest against a deflated Canucks team. Connor has 18 points in 16 career games against Vancouver – his highest total against any club – while the rest of the offense will be looking to pad their stats against a Canucks team that has given up 3.4 goals per game (27th in the NHL).

How Vancouver Will Win

The Canucks will be in tough to pick up a win against Winnipeg, though the Jets could be fatigued after their overtime loss Thursday. Hellebuyck also started Thursday and will likely be getting the night off so goals may be a bit easier to come by for Vancouver. Pettersson and captain Bo Horvat will have to wake up sooner or later and this could be a good opportunity against a tired team.

Computer Pick: Jets ML (-125)

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