Jets vs. Rangers Odds
| Jets Odds | +165 |
| Rangers Odds | -200 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-105 / -115) |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
A major collapse on Saturday in 7-4 defeat against Tampa Bay officially put the exclamation mark on what was a very disappointing season for the Winnipeg Jets. Now, the team will look to keep it professional down the stretch, playing the role of spoiler.
On the other side, New York has put together the exact opposite story this season and has overachieved preseason expectations. And the Rangers are very much alive in the race for first in the Metropolitan Division.
This favorable home contest is a must-have for New York should it plan on hanging around with Carolina much longer. So, can the Rangers build on its stellar record at Madison Square Garden?
Let’s take a look at this matchup below to see where we can find betting value.
Winnipeg Jets
In a game where Winnipeg truly never deserved to be up 4-2, it still managed quite a shocking collapse to eventually suffer a 7-4 loss. The loss essentially made the postseason miss official, and was about the going rate for what we have seen much of the last month from the Jets.
We have consistently seen this Jets group put together awful defensive results of late, with a third-worst xGA/60 mark of 3.85 over the last 10 games and a 44.28 xGF percentage.
The Jets hold a couple of true offensive game-breakers, but altogether it has clearly played a losing brand of hockey of late due to its poor defensive play. And stars like Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers are the main reasons the race even went on this long.
Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti will remain sidelined on the injury front.
It's unclear whether we will see Connor Hellebuyck or Eric Comrie in goal for the Jets, but the numbers are much more marginal than you might expect between the two and the ultimate decision is not crucial.
Hellebuyck has played to a +13.7 goals saved above expected rating with a .909 save % throughout 64 games, while Comrie holds a +5.4 GSAx with a .912 in 15 outings.
There has been some speculation that Hellebuyck has faltered down the stretch due to fatigue and that certainly might be true to an extent. However, it's quite clear Winnipeg is also poor in front of him and that an elite goaltender of his caliber would be thriving in other situations.
New York Rangers
New York might have overachieved in the first half of the season to an extent, but since the deadline we have really seen it all come together for the team.
At points, it seemed the Rangers were simply just a team featuring a goaltender having one of the best seasons in recent memory, but the Rangers have been simply good of late.
The Rangers have played to a 59.09 xGF% in their last 10 games, with a record of 7-2-1 and a +13 goal differential. You could certainly say taking advantage of some softer competition has boosted that record, but this is another great spot to do that again.
Andrew Copp has been excellent since his addition from the Jets at the trade deadline and should continue to skate on the second line. The deadline addition of Frank Vatrano from the Panthers has also worked well, and the results have clearly shown the Rangers are better than they were prior to those arrivals.
K'Andre Miller has been another important part of the continued growth from this team, as the 22-year-old has chipped in some really great minutes of late and quietly become an excellent two-way defender.
Igor Shesterkin will still need to be spectacular for this group to go deep in the playoffs, but New York has succeeded with him playing less dominantly of late. It's unclear if we‘ll see him or Alexandr Georgiev get the start, but I lean toward head coach Gerard Gallant not viewing this as a time to rest Shesterkin yet.
Shesterkin has been solid and is rightfully pegged as the clear Vezina Trophy favorite, with a +32.3 GSAx rating and a .935 save % in 50 games played.
Jets vs. Rangers Pick
New York has been playing sound hockey up and down the roster of late, and has been far from relying on Shesterkin to carry it to close single-goal victories like we saw much of the season.
The Rangers have managed the puck effectively, controlling much more of the play. The Jets have consistently tried to cover up for their poor defensive play with big offensive nights, but that does not seem like a winning recipe heading into Madison Square Garden.
At -120 on the betting line, I see value on backing New York to to win this game in regulation and would play the 60-minute wager down to -135 odds.
Pick: Rangers — 3-Way Win (-120)
