Posted at 11:00 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle  +113  BET365 +110 Sportsinteraction  +105  888Sport +110

Toronto +113 over Winnipeg

7:07 PM EST. OT included. The Jets have been one of the hottest teams in hockey over the last month, winning 12 of their last 16 games, including picking up points in all but two of those contests along the way. It’s an impressive stretch on paper, but a closer look shows that Winnipeg feasted on weak competition, including Minnesota (19th) twice, San Jose (32nd), Anaheim (30th), Arizona (26th), Columbus (29th), Chicago (31st), Philadelphia (25th), the Islanders (24th), and Ottawa (21st). One of the few games in which Winnipeg did not grab a point includes a 4-1 loss at Boston on Monday night in a game that nobody would fault them for considering the tremendous success Winnipeg has had and because Boston rarely loses at home.

Here’s where the “yeah, but” comes in, as the Jets have also been very fortunate since they lost the heart and soul on and off the ice in Mark Scheifele. We do not put too much stock in one player or one game, but there are exceptions, and Scheifele is one. Since his last game on January 11 versus the Blackhawks where he played just 7:41 before leaving the ice, the Jets have had some good fortune by way of a weak spot in their schedule where they played Philadelphia (25th), the Islanders (24th), and Ottawa (21st) in the immediate aftermath of Scheifele’s injury. Winnipeg would go 2-1-0 in those three games, but they were outclassed in their wins over the Isles and Sens, the latter of which came in overtime last Sunday. Moreover, the Jets lost their defensive leader in Josh Morrissey on Wednesday versus the Maple Leafs, and their All-Star defenseman is a game-time decision tonight. Even if “J-Mo” suits up, it’s not fair to expect him to be operating at 100%.

The Maple Leafs are working their way out of a fog that saw them lose five of six games before winning two in a row over Seattle and Winnipeg. A win over the Kraken might not look impressive to the uninclined, but the reality is that Seattle had been one of the hottest teams in hockey to close out 2023 and a stretch in 2024, winning nine in a row between December 20 and January 13. That positive result for Toronto rolled into another one on Wednesday night at home against the Jets, where the Maple Leafs were able to recover from a slow start where they were getting outshot 16-to-4 over 20 minutes before waking up and taking over that game, outshooting Winnipeg 26-16 the rest of the way until Auston Matthews put back the game-winner in overtime for the game's only goal in a 1-0 final.

If we are to take anything from that game, it’s that the Jets might be running on fumes after a long stretch of success, but now the injuries are piling up, and their stock is trading at a season-high, and perhaps its highest ever, going back to their days in Atlanta. The Jets are just +950 to win the Stanley Cup, which has them right behind Colorado (+900) and Vancouver (+900), as well as the red-hot Oilers, who are now just +700 to hoist Lord’s Stanley holy grail. Of course, the Jets can win tonight, but now is not the time to buy; now is the time to sell. The hockey season is full of peaks and valleys, and the Jets have peaked. Down into the valley, we go. Our fade of the Jets continues.

Sherwood

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