Absolutely everything is on the line here for the Jets. They are the first team to finish their season, and they have very slim playoff hopes. In order to make the postseason for the first time since 2007 and only the second time in the history of the franchise, they need to win this game and then hope that the Senators lose their final three games and the Rangers drop their last two. Ottawa has dropped two in a row at home and finishes with a reasonably tough schedule against Washington, Philadelphia and Boston so they could do their part. The Rangers face an easier test — Carolina and New Jersey — but hey just lost to Florida last time out, so anything could happen.

For bettors, then, the biggest question here is whether the small hopes for Winnipeg are enough to have them firing on all cylinders or whether they have given up already. As an interesting side note, the Sens and Rangers both start their games an hour before Winnipeg does, so Winnipeg could know by the first intermission if their hopes are in real danger, and that could affect them the rest of the way.

Canadiens at Jets Betting storylines

Winnipeg isn’t the only team feeling some real urgency in this one. The Habs are tied with the Bruins with 59 games. They have played one more game than their Original Six foe, though, so they have very little room for error if they want to win the Northeast Division and secure that valued second seed in the playoffs — and the guaranteed home ice advantage in at least two rounds that comes with it.

That incentive certainly hasn’t been enough to drive them lately, though — Montreal has dropped two in a row and five of their last six. Boston is playing far from great hockey right now, but the Canadiens are trying hard to hand them the division.

To make matters worse, the Canadiens are currently in a three-game road losing skid. While that’s far from ideal, you don’t want to panic too much about it. Montreal is a solid 13-7-2 on the road this year, and this is already their longest losing streak of the year. They are better than their current play, in other words.

While the chance to make the playoffs could be big for Winnipeg, I suspect the bigger feeling for most the players is the bitter hangover of disappointment about Tuesday night. They were playing in Washington against a team they had dropped three of four games to already. With a win Winnipeg could have moved a point ahead of the Capitals in the race for the Southeast Division crown. They threw the game away with a sloppy performance in the last five minutes of the second period. That cost them two goals and, ultimately, the game. Washington clinched the division. It’s a massive missed opportunity, and psychologically it could be the end of the line for a team that has faced the most brutal travel in the league this year thanks to them still being in the same division that Atlanta was.

One thing Winnipeg does have going for them is their strong play at home lately. In their last six home games they are an impressive 5-0-1.

Canadiens at Jets Odds and Betting Trends

BookMaker lists both teams at -110 with the total at 5.5.

The Habs have gone “over” in their last four road games against teams with winning home records. The Jets have gone over in their last four home games. The Jets have lost their last four games against teams with winning records. Montreal has won the last four meetings between the teams.

Canadiens at Jets Picks and Betting Predictions

I’d like to take the Jets here, but the combination of the frustration of Tuesday’s loss and recent injuries to Bogosian, Wellwood and Jokinen to add to an already unhealthy team is just too much for them to overcome. Montreal has not been playing very well recently, but they match up well against these Jets and have had success over them of late. The Habs are the pick.

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Read more articles by Trevor Whenham