by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Feb 24, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, MB
Where to watch: TVAS, TSN3, ALT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Even
FanDuel: Even
BetMGM: Even
Caesars: Even
Season record
Avalanche: 31-19-5
Jets: 35-22-1
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Avalanche - Jets preview, prediction and analysis
The Colorado Avalanche will be playing the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, February 24 in Winnipeg.
The Colorado Avalanche won against the Edmonton Oilers last Sunday, February 19 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado with a score of 6-5 in overtime. The Colorado Avalanche currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Compher had a goal and three assists, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 35 saves for the Avalanche (31-19-5), who have won three in a row and are 4-0-1 in their past five games.
Defenseman Cale Makar, who played in a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday after missing four games with a head injury sustained Feb. 7, did not play because of an upper-body injury.
"It was an ugly game, on our side of it anyway," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We had some resilience, no question. It's just one of those nights where that wasn't anywhere near our best, and I didn't think it was not from lack of want. But I felt like we lacked energy there, which is understandable with what's been going on, and if you're mentally not engaged the way you have to be, it can be a tough night, and we survived it. We were fortunate to get two points out of it, but we did."
Edmonton scored the first three goals before Compher cut it to 3-1 at 8:34 after MacKinnon's shot from the left circle deflected off him in front, and Valeri Nichushkin made it 3-2 at 12:48 when his intended pass for Matt Nieto deflected in off the skate of Cody Ceci.
Tyson Barrie scored from the point to make it 4-2 at 17:42. MacKinnon scored 26 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from the left circle to cut it to 4-3. Mattias Janmark responded for the Oilers at 3:58 with a slap shot from the high slot after receiving a pass from Connor McDavid make it 5-3.
"When we got our third goal, I felt like we started to come [alive] a little bit again," Bednar said. "It's hard to crank yourself up to go work and leave it all on the ice when you're tired and fatigued and you don't feel like there's a chance you can win. So, obviously, the guys still believed, which I like. We have a belief in our group that we can win, especially when we make the game close like tonight. So, you certainly see a spark when you get a good break."
Logan O'Connor cut it to 5-4 at 9:30 when he jammed in a loose puck at the left post, and Artturi Lehkonen tied it 5-5 at 15:48 with a redirection of a point shot by Compher.
"Good third period. It's easy to nitpick every single night," MacKinnon said. "We play so many games that [we're] just going to have off periods sometimes. So, lately, it's been really good in the thirds."
Mikko Rantanen scored with 22 seconds remaining in overtime for the Colorado Avalanche. Following an offensive-zone face-off win by J.T. Compher, Rantanen received a pass from Devon Toews at the point and cut through the slot before scoring from the left face-off circle.
"First of all, really good job by 'Comph' to win the draw. It's really important in the OT," Rantanen said. "And [I] did a little scissor [with] 'Toewser,' and I think Toewser ran a little pick on [Darnell] Nurse there, so, gave me a little bit more room. He kind of hooked me, so [Jack] Campbell maybe thought I was shooting it, [and] then he was out of [the net] after. So, I was glad to help the team win."
The Colorado Avalanche have won six of their last 10 games.
The Winnipeg Jets lost against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, February 22 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York with a score of 2-1. The Winnipeg Jets currently rank 2nd in the Central Division.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored in his 500th NHL game for the Jets (35-22-1), who finished 1-3-0 on a four-game road trip. Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves after making 50 in a 4-1 win at the New York Rangers on Monday.
"It's a double-edged sword," Winnipeg forward Adam Lowry said. "You obviously need the results, [but] at the same time, we're building for the playoffs. We're [going to] make sure we're comfortable in these type [of] games. So, obviously you want to get the results, and dropping three of four on the road is never a good thing."
New York scored the first goal before Ehlers tied it 1-1 on the power play at 4:30 of the second period when he eluded Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri in the left circle and ripped a wrist shot past Sorokin.
The Jets scored eight goals during the road trip.
"We haven't scored enough to win games," Ehlers said. "When we have scored, we've had traffic in front of the net. So, that's something [we've] got to continue doing."
Winnipeg outshot New York 12-4 in the second but was outshot 7-5 in the third.
Simon Holmstrom broke a tie in the third period giving New York the win.
The Winnipeg Jets have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The champs are playing well at the right time and it's only a matter of time before things get wild with them. Avalanche 4, Jets 3
The Colorado Avalanche won against the Edmonton Oilers last Sunday, February 19 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado with a score of 6-5 in overtime. The Colorado Avalanche currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Compher had a goal and three assists, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev made 35 saves for the Avalanche (31-19-5), who have won three in a row and are 4-0-1 in their past five games.
Defenseman Cale Makar, who played in a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday after missing four games with a head injury sustained Feb. 7, did not play because of an upper-body injury.
"It was an ugly game, on our side of it anyway," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We had some resilience, no question. It's just one of those nights where that wasn't anywhere near our best, and I didn't think it was not from lack of want. But I felt like we lacked energy there, which is understandable with what's been going on, and if you're mentally not engaged the way you have to be, it can be a tough night, and we survived it. We were fortunate to get two points out of it, but we did."
Edmonton scored the first three goals before Compher cut it to 3-1 at 8:34 after MacKinnon's shot from the left circle deflected off him in front, and Valeri Nichushkin made it 3-2 at 12:48 when his intended pass for Matt Nieto deflected in off the skate of Cody Ceci.
Tyson Barrie scored from the point to make it 4-2 at 17:42. MacKinnon scored 26 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from the left circle to cut it to 4-3. Mattias Janmark responded for the Oilers at 3:58 with a slap shot from the high slot after receiving a pass from Connor McDavid make it 5-3.
"When we got our third goal, I felt like we started to come [alive] a little bit again," Bednar said. "It's hard to crank yourself up to go work and leave it all on the ice when you're tired and fatigued and you don't feel like there's a chance you can win. So, obviously, the guys still believed, which I like. We have a belief in our group that we can win, especially when we make the game close like tonight. So, you certainly see a spark when you get a good break."
Logan O'Connor cut it to 5-4 at 9:30 when he jammed in a loose puck at the left post, and Artturi Lehkonen tied it 5-5 at 15:48 with a redirection of a point shot by Compher.
"Good third period. It's easy to nitpick every single night," MacKinnon said. "We play so many games that [we're] just going to have off periods sometimes. So, lately, it's been really good in the thirds."
Mikko Rantanen scored with 22 seconds remaining in overtime for the Colorado Avalanche. Following an offensive-zone face-off win by J.T. Compher, Rantanen received a pass from Devon Toews at the point and cut through the slot before scoring from the left face-off circle.
"First of all, really good job by 'Comph' to win the draw. It's really important in the OT," Rantanen said. "And [I] did a little scissor [with] 'Toewser,' and I think Toewser ran a little pick on [Darnell] Nurse there, so, gave me a little bit more room. He kind of hooked me, so [Jack] Campbell maybe thought I was shooting it, [and] then he was out of [the net] after. So, I was glad to help the team win."
The Colorado Avalanche have won six of their last 10 games.
The Winnipeg Jets lost against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, February 22 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York with a score of 2-1. The Winnipeg Jets currently rank 2nd in the Central Division.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored in his 500th NHL game for the Jets (35-22-1), who finished 1-3-0 on a four-game road trip. Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves after making 50 in a 4-1 win at the New York Rangers on Monday.
"It's a double-edged sword," Winnipeg forward Adam Lowry said. "You obviously need the results, [but] at the same time, we're building for the playoffs. We're [going to] make sure we're comfortable in these type [of] games. So, obviously you want to get the results, and dropping three of four on the road is never a good thing."
New York scored the first goal before Ehlers tied it 1-1 on the power play at 4:30 of the second period when he eluded Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri in the left circle and ripped a wrist shot past Sorokin.
The Jets scored eight goals during the road trip.
"We haven't scored enough to win games," Ehlers said. "When we have scored, we've had traffic in front of the net. So, that's something [we've] got to continue doing."
Winnipeg outshot New York 12-4 in the second but was outshot 7-5 in the third.
Simon Holmstrom broke a tie in the third period giving New York the win.
The Winnipeg Jets have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The champs are playing well at the right time and it's only a matter of time before things get wild with them. Avalanche 4, Jets 3
Betting trends
Avalanche are 11-5 against division opponents this season.
Avalanche are 12-9 revenging a loss this season.
Jets are 14-4 against division opponents this season.
Projected lines
Avalanche:
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin
Evan Rodrigues -- J.T. Compher -- Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano -- Alex Newhook -- Logan O'Connor
Matt Nieto -- Ben Meyers -- Denis Malgin
Samuel Girard -- Devon Toews
Josh Manson -- Bowen Byram
Andreas Englund -- Kurtis MacDermid
Alexandar Georgiev
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin
Evan Rodrigues -- J.T. Compher -- Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano -- Alex Newhook -- Logan O'Connor
Matt Nieto -- Ben Meyers -- Denis Malgin
Samuel Girard -- Devon Toews
Josh Manson -- Bowen Byram
Andreas Englund -- Kurtis MacDermid
Alexandar Georgiev
Jets:
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Mason Appleton
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Blake Wheeler
Morgan Barron -- Adam Lowry -- Sam Gagner
Saku Maenalanen -- Kevin Stenlund -- Karson Kuhlman
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley -- Nate Schmidt
Connor Hellebuyck
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Mason Appleton
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Blake Wheeler
Morgan Barron -- Adam Lowry -- Sam Gagner
Saku Maenalanen -- Kevin Stenlund -- Karson Kuhlman
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley -- Nate Schmidt
Connor Hellebuyck
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
