It’s a Saturday night NHL showdown in Winnipeg, Manitoba with the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Colorado Avalanche at Canada Life Centre. Welcome to NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey, where each day we preview and predict the upcoming slate of NHL games around the league! In this article, we will preview and predict the matchup between the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche. Be sure to check out all of our NHL Predictions throughout the 2024-25 season and follow along with your favourite teams.
NHL Predictions
Winnipeg Jets vs Colorado Avalanche
Head-to-Head: Jets 1-1 Avalanche
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: NHLN, SN1, ALT, KTVD
This will be the third of four meetings between the Jets and Avalanche in 2024-25. The teams have split their previous two matchups, with Winnipeg shutting out Colorado 1-0 back on November 7th, and the Avalanche besting the Jets 5-2 on New Year’s Eve in Denver, Colorado.
In the Jets win, it was Gabriel Vilardi scoring the lone goal of the game in the first period, and Connor Hellebuyck standing tall and making 35 saves en route to his second consecutive shutout. In the Avalanche win, it was Casey Mittelstadt scoring the winning goal in the third period which broke a 2-2 tie at the time. Colorado went on to add two empty net goals and secured a much deserved win. Notably, the Avalanche have controlled the five-on-five attempts against the Jets this season; in the two meetings they have out-attempted the Jets 128-87 and outshot them 67-44.
Colorado Avalanche Riding High
The Avalanche are playing some of their best hockey of the season over the course of their last ten games. They hold an 8-1-1 record over that stretch and have outscored their opponents 39-21, including a 6-1 drubbing of the Minnesota Wild their last time out.
Colorado is scoring at will during this streak, but it is their goaltending that has been sparkling. The acquisitions of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood has completely revamped the position for the team. Remarkably, in ten starts as an Av, Blackwood is 8-1-1 with a 1.61 GAA and a .940 SV%. In addition, Wedgewood is 4-2-0 across seven appearances with a 2.35 GAA and a .917 SV% to go along with one shutout. The talent across the forwards and defence of this team is undeniable, but now having two formidable goaltenders that bring stability to the position is setting up the Avalanche for an extended playoff run this spring.
Hard Luck Loss for Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg fell to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime on Friday night. It was a tough loss for the Jets in a game that was tight checking and had a dearth of shots and scoring chances. Though they recorded a single point, it was a game they would’ve loved to have won, being a night honouring Connor Hellebuyck for his 300th career win. As well, it was another strong performance from backup goaltender Eric Comrie, where he stopped 21 of 23 shots his way, but was beaten by Adrian Kempe in the extra frame. In this contest, the Kings did control the majority of high danger scoring chances at five-on-five (9-3 for LA) but the Jets power play continued to click and showed why they are ranked first in the NHL. With the defeat, the Jets fell to 1-2-2 in their last five games.
NHL Predictions – Jets vs Avalanche
With this game being the backend of a back-to-back for Winnipeg, it is going to be a difficult game to win. It goes without saying, Winnipeg has to key on three players Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. They are first, second, and third on the team in scoring and are 23 points clear of the next closest player in scoring on their team. The Avalanche are rolling along, but have had head scratching losses to Chicago and Montreal in their past four games.
Though the Jets are struggling for wins lately, they’ve given up only two goals against in each of their last two games and have Connor Hellebuyck back in the net for this one. Furthermore, he’s already shutout the Avalanche this year in his only appearance against them. Expect the defensive effort from their games against Nashville and Los Angeles to carry over into this one and the Jets to find a way to win this game.
Prediction: Jets win 4-2
Prop Bet of the Night
In back-to-back games, teams need depth and role players to chip in to make the difference. Therefore, Winnipeg will need to lean on their depth to get the better of the Avalanche in this game. What better depth player to turn to than your captain; gambling sites have Adam Lowry at +550 as an anytime goal scorer in this contest. Lowry has a goal and two assists across four January games and could be a dark horse pick to light the lamp in this game.
Main Photo: Terrence Lee – Imagn Images
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