Golden Knights vs Jets Odds
| Golden Knights Odds | -110 |
| Jets Odds | +100 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 +110 / -135 |
Winnipeg suffered an embarrassing 5-1 loss Tuesday at home against Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings.
The Jets have a matchup Thursday against another Western contender: the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, who are 4-0-0 to start the season.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights have done well to stockpile all available points early on while short the services of some key pieces on the back end.
Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud both played in all 22 playoff games in Vegas' title run, but neither has skated yet this season.
Captain Alex Pietrangelo was injured against San Jose, and he remains day to day ahead of this matchup.
Vegas' overall play has been solid but not outright dominant thus far. Soft matchups against Anaheim, San Jose and perhaps even Seattle have helped to boost its xGF% up to 54.0.
The Knights have remained dangerous off of the rush, and they are better than average at creating high quality chances, which force goaltenders to move laterally.
In his opening three games, goaltender Adin Hill has started to make his case that his dominant Cup run was no fluke. He has played to a +4.6 GSAx and .951 save % this season.
It would make sense for this to be a start for Logan Thompson, though. He has not received game action since last Thursday, and he was solid in that contest with San Jose.
Confirmation on the starter will come after the morning skate, but Thompson can be viewed as a slight downgrade compared to Hill at this point.
Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg's highly anticipated matchup with Los Angeles did not go as planned, and the Jets were blown out in front of a concerning crowd of just 11,226.
The game had an extra level of hype as star forward Pierre Luc Dubois returned after requesting a trade out of Winnipeg last summer. Dubois scored the game's opening goal, and the Kings followed with four more, leading to the eventual 5-1 final.
To rub extra salt in the wound, the top acquisition from the Dubois trade was injured; winger Gabriel Vilardi suffered an MCL sprain and will miss 4-6 weeks.
The previous two Jets contests were quite impressive, however, and they do appear to have a roster with more upside this season. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele have both looked lethal offensively playing on a line with the now-injured Vilardi. Rasmus Kupari seems likely to bump up into Vilardi's spot ahead of this matchup, and he will be a player to watch.
The Jets own a strong expected goals for percentage of 53.9, and that is a fair take on the quality two-way game they have displayed thus far as a team.
Winnipeg's forward core has become quietly deep when at full health this season. If Cole Perfetti can effectively handle the second line center role, it could prove to be an underrated unit.
The Jets announced Wednesday that backup netminder Laurent Brossoit will start this matchup against his former side. In 11 appearances last season with the Knights, Brossoit posted a +5.9 GSAx and .927 save %.
Golden Knights vs Jets
Betting Pick & Prediction
This is a tough spot for the 4-0-0 Stanley Cup champion Knights, who have been all systems go in the early going despite some meaningful absences on the back end.
They are not getting as much market respect as I would have hoped, though, and are priced as only slight favorites here in Winnipeg. But the more valuable side is still with the Jets.
Winnipeg is going to be a tough building to play in all season long. They have a deep forward corps filled with quality NHLers, which is headlined by some elite scoring talents. The Jets were humiliated in a big game versus Dubois and the Kings, but this is a good time to target a bounce-back.
There is no doubt a gap between Brossoit and Hellebuyck, but it is likely less wide than some people would imagine. Brossoit owned excellent numbers a year ago, and I'm willing to back him in his first start this season. The Jets are a play at anything better than -110 in this matchup.
Pick: Winnipeg Jets (+100 at Betway)
