An exciting Central division matchup is on tap Saturday in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Minnesota Wild. 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 Minnesota Wild. Be sure to check out all of our NHL predictions throughout the 2024-25 season and follow along your favourite teams.
NHL Predictions
Winnipeg Jets vs Minnesota Wild
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: SNW, SN360, FDSNNO, FDSNWIX
Division rivals Winnipeg and Minnesota will meet for the third time this season on Saturday in Winnipeg. The Jets have taken each of the first two meetings this season, skating away with a 2-1 overtime victory on Oct 13 in Winnipeg, and a 4-1 victory on Nov 25 in Minnesota. Winnipeg has now won the last seven meetings in this rivalry, holding the Wild to two or fewer goals in six of those previous games. With a regulation win the Wild can close the Jets’ lead in the Central division to a single point.
Winnipeg is looking to rebound from a putrid defeat at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks (3-2 on Dec 18). The Jets all but gift wrapped the victory to Anaheim on Wednesday, coughing up the puck and conceding the go-ahead goal in the last minute of play. Meanwhile, Minnesota is scuffling of late as well, having lost their last three games in a row and four of five. This includes three straight home defeats where they managed just four goals total and conceded eleven. This game will be the second game of a back-to-back situation for Minnesota.
Winnipeg Jets’ Stars Need Support
The line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi has been scintillating for Winnipeg over the last five games. These three have combined for eleven goals and 24 points over that stretch. They have dominated games and carried this Jets team throughout each of them.
However, they are getting virtually no support from the rest of the forward group. Rookie Nikita Chibrikov has the next most points among Jets forwards in the last five games played; he’s currently back honing his talents with the Manitoba Moose. That’s the state of the Winnipeg forward group at the moment. It’s not a matter of the other lines being unlucky, or snake-bitten. They have generated next to nothing offensively. For this team to have consistent success, much like the success they enjoyed in the initial few months of the season, they need a balanced attack and production. Depth is the calling card of this team. They must show and use that depth to their advantage.
Kirill Kaprizov is Extraterrestrial
Kirill Kaprizov is having an outstanding 2024-25 season thus far and is due for a huge pay raise. The Minnesota Wild star sits one point back of second place in league scoring enter Saturday’s games. It might be too strong to say he’s single-handedly carried the Wild, but one can only imagine where this team would be without him. He is 19 points clear of their teams’ next leading scorer and also leads the team in plus-minus, all while playing just under 23:00 minutes a night. Those are some hefty numbers for a forward. We can say that he has carried the Wild over the last ten games, scoring eight of his team’s 17 goals during that stretch. In the second game of a back-to-back, Minnesota will need Kaprizov to be the catalyst yet again.
NHL Predictions – Jets vs Wild
This should be an interesting and entertaining game to watch. Both teams are still atop the Central division but have hit rough patches in their play and are searching for consistency. Minnesota’s scoring has dried up of late and Winnipeg has had mixed results against some very beatable opponents. With the circumstances being as they are (Minnesota on a back-to-back, Winnipeg returning home with two days rest) it favours the Jets in this matchup between two even teams. Winnipeg has shown the ability to shut down the Wild thus far this season. With thanks to Connor Hellebuyck, I believe they will stymy Minnesota once more to add to their tough stretch. The Jets depth players will provide some help to their stars, and the team will gift their fans an early Christmas present in their last home game before the holidays.
Prediction: Jets win 4-2
Prop Bets of the Night
Since we’re hyping the Winnipeg Jets depth scoring in this contest, we like Cole Perfetti to record a point. Gambling sites have Perfetti at +116 to record a point on Saturday. Perfetti did record a point in the Jets last meeting with Minnesota and has points in two of his last three home games.
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Main Photo: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
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