The Winnipeg Jets look to even the series up at the Enterprise Center in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. This divisional matchup will get started at 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 16, and it can be seen live on CNBC, RSN, TVA and FSMW.
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues Odds
Winnipeg (+135) is currently the underdog to St. Louis (-155), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.
Winnipeg is 48-37 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 85 regular season matches, 43 of its games have gone over the total, while 35 have gone under and just seven have pushed. This 2018-19 Jets team is 23-19 SU on the road.
After accounting for the fourth-best power-play unit in the regular season (scoring on 25.1 percent of all opportunities), the Jets have been able to score on 33.3 percent of their extra-man advantages in the early stages of these playoffs.
Winnipeg’s offensive attack attempted 31.1 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.3 goals per outing (ranked seventh overall in the NHL). In the playoffs, however, the team’s down to an average of 27.7 shots on goal 3.3 goals per game.
With a .912 save percentage and 29.5 saves per game, Connor Hellebuyck (35-31-3) has been the top option in goal for Winnipeg this year. If it decides to rest him, however, the team could turn to Laurent Brossoit (13-8-2), who has a .925 save percentage and 2.52 goals against average this year.
Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Jets. Wheeler has 94 points on 21 goals and 73 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 23 different games. Scheifele has 39 goals and 48 assists to his name (and has notched at least one point in 48 games).
Over on the other bench, St. Louis is 47-38 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.4 units this season. 44 of its outings have gone under the total, while 36 have gone over and just five have pushed. This season, the team is 24-18 SU as the home team.
St. Louis has converted on 20.9 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked ninth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all penalties.
The Blues have been penalized only 3.4 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their past five games total, and 3.4 per game over their last five at home. The team has had to kill penalties just 5.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen has denied 25.1 shots per game as the primary netminder in the crease for St. Louis. Allen has 19 wins, 27 losses, and eight overtime losses to his credit and has recorded a pedestrian 2.83 goals against average and a fairly-weak .905 save percentage this year.
Ryan O’Reilly (29 goals, 49 assists) will lead the attack for the Blues.
Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their last five outings.
- The extra-man advantage could be critical tonight. The Jets are 22-14 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-27 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total. The Blues are 23-19 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 35-25 in games where their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- St. Louis has forced 11.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 8.3 takeaways per game (ranked 8th in the league).
- Winnipeg is ranked 15th in the NHL this season with 7.6 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it has managed 6.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.4 takeaways over its last five.
