Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild - 12/21/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Winnipeg Jets vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2019

Location: Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN

TV: FSN/CBC

Odds/Point Spread: Jets (+113) Wild (-125)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Xcel Energy Center is the site where Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild (17-14-5, 5th in the Central Division) will take on the Winnipeg Jets (20-13-2, 4th in the Central Division) on Saturday. The line on this game has the Jets priced at +113 and the Wild are at -125. The O/U is set at 5.5. The Jets are covering 54.6% of the time, having gone 18-15 SU. The Wild are covering 45.7% of the time, going 16-19 straight up.

The Winnipeg Jets head into this matchup with a record of 20 victories and 13 defeats, ranking them 4th in the Central Division. So far this season, they have scored a total of 103 goals which puts them at 8th in the West and 19th in the league. Their goal differential is +3, ranking them 15th in the league. The Jets currently have a total of 42 pts, which puts them at 12th in the league and 6th in the West. In discussing shots on goal, they currently have a total of 1,105 which puts them at 9th in the conference and 17th in the league. As a unit, Winnipeg has collected a total of 731 hits which means they are averaging 20.9 per contest. They currently have a total of 371 blocks for the year. The man between the pipes for Winnipeg is Connor Hellebuyck from Commerce, Michigan. He is 26 years old and has played 1,586 minutes protecting the net for the campaign. Hellebuyck is allowing 2.53 goals per contest which has him ranked 7th in the Western Conference and 17th in the NHL among goalies. Over the course of this year, he's allowed 67 goals. He holds a save % of .924 which has him ranked 7th in the Western Conference.

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The Winnipeg Jets will look to clean up some issues after taking a 4 - 1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks the last time they stepped on the ice. The Jets didn't have a great showing offensively in the loss. For this game, they converted 1 of the 37 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 2 power play chances but weren't able to notch a goal in these power play chances. Winnipeg earned a total of 4 penalty mins for this outing. The Corsi for the Jets was 58 and the Corsi against was 43 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 57.4%. Their Fenwick was 40 while the Fenwick against was 36, which gave them a Fenwick percentage of 52.6%. They won 20 face-off wins and were beaten on 25 attempts to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 64.5% and they had a PDO of 92.8 in this one. Concerning opponent stats, the Chicago Blackhawks earned a total of 32 shots. They finished with a total of 4 penalty mins and they tallied 2 power play opportunities.

The Wild will be the team across the ice and for the current year they have 17 victories and 14 defeats. When looking at goal differential, they are sitting 10th in the Western Conference and 22nd in the league with -5. They have compiled a total of 114 goals for the year which has them at 3rd in the Western Conference. Minnesota has a save % as a team of .896 which has them sitting 26th in the league, which tells us scoring chances could be plentiful if they are aggressive. They have a shooting percentage of 11.1% which is good for 2nd in the West. In goal for Minnesota is Devan Dubnyk who is having a rough season by allowing 3.48 goals against average and that places him 33rd in the Western Conference and 62nd among goalies in the NHL. In the 811 mins he's played, he has allowed 47 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .891, which has him sitting 30th in the Western Conference and 58th among goalies in the NHL.

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The Minnesota Wild went up against the Arizona Coyotes in a game where the Wild got the win by a final of 8 - 5. For this matchup, Minnesota went home with a 42.1% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 45 while the opposition had a Corsi of 62. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 45.1% by earning a Fenwick of 37 and the Coyotes finishing with a 45 Fenwick. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Minnesota played and they looked good in this game. They had a PDO of 118.2 and their oZS percentage was 41.2%. The Wild converted 8 goals of the 33 shots on goal they took. They had 2 power play attempts in this one but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. Regarding their opponent, the Coyotes had 4 power play chances and ended up scoring 2 goals. Minnesota allowed 40 shots on goal and the Coyotes earned a total of 8 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Winnipeg (+113)

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