Jets look to celebrate Hockey Day in Canada with their fans on the road as they win their fourth straight game over the Sens
The Senators have one of the most underrated offenses in the league with the ninth-best goals per game this season at 3.40 on average. Sadly, the explanation for their failure is their lack of good defense, tied with the Blue Jackets as the second-worst team in the league, letting in 3.73 goals per game. However, Ottawa’s defense has improved lately, dropping their average goals allowed to 2.70 per game in their last ten. They take on a Jets team that has one regulation loss in their last 15 games and has beaten the Sens in ten of their last 15 matchups.
It should be a great all-Canadian matchup for Hockey Day in Canada and if you want to get in on the action, here are our best bets for this afternoon’s matchup in the nation’s capital.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly.
Pick: Jets ML (-150)
The Jets’ defense is second-to-none, ranking the best in the league over the season with an average of 2.28 goals allowed per game. They top the Canucks, Kings, Bruins, and Flyers by a considerable margin and continued their defensive prowess as of late with a two goals against average over their last ten games. As good as the Senators are offensively, they will have to get under the skin of the Jets defense and more specifically Josh Morrissey, who’s top 12 in points by defenseman and has the fifth-best defensive rating in the league with a +24 on the season.
They will also need to get expected netminder Connor Hellebuyck, who’s been red hot with a 7-1-2 record and a goals against average of 1.70 and a save percentage of .942 in his last 10 games. He’s been an established top-tier goalie for sometime, most recently winning the Vezina trophy for best goaltender in 2020.
The Sens should also have their hands full trying to slow down the Jets offense that’s been scoring an average of 3.90 goals per game in their last ten. Their top point-scorer may be missing in Mark Scheifele, who will be sidelined with a lower-body injury, but they still have their top goal-scorer in Kyle Connor, who’s missed some time but returned to the lineup this past Tuesday and scored his 18th goal of the season.
Pick: Kyle Connor any time goal (+130)
Connor has a decent history against the Sens with four goals in their last four matchups. He returned from a knee injury Tuesday and returned to his spot opposite Morrissey on the first power play defense pairing where he should see scoring chances in this one.