Two of the best teams in the Western Conference clash on Thursday night in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Vegas Golden Knights. 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 be previewing and predicting the matchup between the Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights. Be sure to check out all of our predictions throughout the 2024-25 season and follow along your favourite teams.
NHL Predictions
Winnipeg Jets vs Vegas Golden Knights
Head-to-Head: Jets 0-1 Golden Knights
Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: TSN3, Scripps Vegas; ESPN+
The Jets will look to avenge their 4-3 defeat on Nov. 29 at the hands of the Golden Knights. Cole Perfetti and Brett Howden each scored twice in the first meeting between the clubs this season with Howden also collecting the game winning goal. That win for Vegas made it eight straight wins overall versus the Jets. Winnipeg hasn’t beaten Vegas in a regular season home game since a 4-0 win on March 22nd, 2022. That game featured a 42 save shutout for Connor Hellebuyck and included just nine Jets who are still apart of their roster today.
Winnipeg Building Off Of Boston Beating
Winnipeg will undoubtedly be looking to carry over the good vibes from their 8-1 shellacking of the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. The Jets thoroughly dominated in all facets of the game. Mark Scheifele appeared to have some added enthusiasm (thanks to the Team Canada selection snubbing from Bruins GM Don Sweeney) and tallied two goals and an assist in a game that was one of his best performances of the season. It was a display of the incredible depth possessed by Winnipeg, with every forward recording a point except for 4th liners Morgan Barron and David Gustafsson. The Jets will look to put together back-to-back strong performances and shake out of a stretch of inconsistent play.
Jets Top Line Back In Form
Over the course of the last five games, Winnipeg’s star players have been just that. The line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi have combined for 10 goals and 20 points over that time frame. Furthermore, they are driving play at 5-on-5; the trio is within the top 10 in the NHL for on-ice goals for over their last five games. Josh Morrissey, along with Scheifele and Connor are all within the top four in the league in expected goals for at 5 -on-5 play in those last five games as well. All in all there is six Jets inside of the top 20 in expected goals for. This is an encouraging trend for Winnipeg moving forward and heading into the matchup with Vegas.
Vegas’ Jack-Of-All
Jack Eichel has been sizzling hot this year for the Golden Knights. He sits tied for fifth in the NHL with 39 points and second overall with 30 assists in 28 games played. Now that he is fully healthy his career has completely taken off with Vegas and has solidified himself as one of the premier players in the NHL. He is a dominating force at 5 on 5 play, sitting fifth in the NHL in on-ice goals for (30) and owns an impressive 64% on-ice goals for percentage. Eichel’s play in this one will have a massive impact on the outcome for the Golden Knights.
NHL Predictions – Jets vs Golden Knights
Winnipeg will be hungry for a win over Vegas to end their longstanding reign in this rivalry. The Golden Knights will be well rested, having not played since defeating Dallas 3-2 on Saturday night. Meanwhile the Jets’ 8-1 drubbing of Boston would be cause for a slight letdown in the following game. However, this matchup is far too important to Winnipeg with the taste of playoff series defeats always in their mouths whenever Vegas is on the calendar. I see this game playing out very similar to their meeting in Vegas earlier this season; a back and forth affair with the home team pulling through with a late winner (this time followed by an empty netter).
Prediction: Jets Win 5-3
NHL Prop Bet of the Night
Alert! Alert! In coming slump buster bet!
Our prop bet of the night for NHL predictions is Josh Morrissey to break his 19-game goal drought. The FanDuel Sportsbook line has him at +600 as an anytime goal scorer versus Vegas. Morrissey has been logging huge minutes for the Jets and their defense corps and I’m predicting that his time on ice will translate to a goal in this one.
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