Jets and Blackhawks Should Keep Low Scoring Trend Going

Jets vs. Blackhawks, 8:30 ET

It wasn't a bad play. I stand by all of what I put out on this site - wins and losses - and I try to be as transparent as possible about whatever current streak or trend I'm on. Hockey has not been great all season, but I have gone 4-2 over the last six plays. Yesterday was a loss, unfortunately. I thought that the Bruins and the Flames would be able to get over 5.5 goals. Of course, it went to overtime with a score of 2-2 and that put an end to that play. Fine, it happens. Tonight, I come back to the drawing board and look for a win between the Jets and Blackhawks. 

The Jets are one of the better teams in the NHL with a solid 35-15-5 record overall and sitting in third place within the Central Division. They are in a good enough spot that they should make it into the playoffs. They are also playing very good hockey right now, having won four of the past five games. The scoring has been a bit erratic lately with the Jets scoring six goals in their last game and only six total in three of their previous four games. On the season, they are putting up three goals per game on average and only allowing 2.35 goals against. One area of opportunity against them is in Power Play situations, but the Blackhawks are one of the worst teams in hockey when they have the advantage (I probably could end the sentence right after hockey, but I was trying to be specific about the situation). This is the fourth game that the two teams have played, and right now, the Jets are 2-1 with the home team winning every game so far. Winnipeg should have Connor Hellebuyck in the net, and he has gone 1-0-1 against the Blackhawks this season with just 1.48 goals allowed per game and a .935 save percentage. He has only played in five games this month but has gone 3-2. He is coming off of a game where he allowed five goals to the Flames, so I have to imagine that he wants to rebound in this one. 

The Blackhawks came into this season knowing that they really had one reason for optimism

Blackhawks rookie sensation Connor Bedard returned from missing 14 games with a broken jaw and since returning he has been back to his offensive ways.

. His name is Connor Bedard, and he has been as good as advertised, leading the team in points and goals. He leads the team in those categories and he missed a significant amount of time this year, which kind of indicates just how bad the rest of the team is. The team is 15-39-3 on the season with 11 of their wins coming at home and two of the overtime losses coming in the United Center as well. So, essentially they are the opposite of the Jets. To further that example, they have lost four of their past five games (the Jets have won four of five). Chicago also is scoring just two goals per game on average and allowing 3.53 goals per game. Over the past five games, the Blackhawks have scored 10 goals total which falls in line with the rest of their season's production. Petr Mrazek is going to be in the net tonight for the Blackhawks and despite his win loss numbers, he actually is having a pretty solid campaign with a 2.99 goals against per game average and a .909 save percentage. He has allowed 17 goals over his past five games and allowed four or more goals in three of the five games. He has been surprisingly good against the Jets this season with just three goals allowed in the two games he played in.

Tonight I don't expect the Blackhawks to score three goals. Playing their team total under 2.5 goals is -200 so I won't give that out, but maybe consider putting that in a parlay. It might be surprising to see them even get over 1.5 goals in this one which would be a +145 payout. The Jets are a good team but the Blackhawks have been competitive with them this season. I'll take the game to go under 5.5 goals and hope we don't get the first offensive outburst from the two teams in their fourth meeting. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024