Posted at 1:30 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle -½ +151 BET365  -½ +145 Sportsinteraction  -½ +145  888Sport  -½ +145

Winnipeg -½ +151 over Pittsburgh

7:07 PM EST. Regulation only. We most certainly like the Penguins for some positive regression in the second half but we’ll put that in our back pockets ahead of this game and wait until they’re taking back a price on the road to get on board. We’ll have lots more to say about Pittsburgh then but for now, this is more a wager on Winnipeg than it is a fade against the Penguins.

Give us the best goaltender in the league at a price like this in a spot like this and we’ll gladly bite. For both Winnipeg and Pittsburgh, it'll be their first game back after a long 10-day layoff and we prefer the league’s best goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, after a long layoff than Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry and his under .500 record.

Secondly, the Jets welcome back top forward Mark Scheifele from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for six games. Schiefele is the heart and soul of the Jets and might be the most underappreciated player in the league over the past seven or eight years. Dude is among the best but gets very little credit. Winnipeg is a lot more difficult to beat when Scheifele is in the lineup. Winnipeg also began loading up for what could be a deep playoff run, acquiring center Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens for a first-round pick.

We like the mindset of the Jets coming into this one with Scheifele back and the addition of Monahan.  Management having belief in the team on the ice is powerful. “They believe in us,” Winnipeg's all-world netminder Connor Hellebuyck said Monday. The addition of players around this time of year (seven weeks before the trade deadline) can be a potent weapon, with new blood invigorating teams that acquire it. We’ll gladly put that to the test here.

Sherwood

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