Winnipeg Jets vs Seattle Kraken: Jets to win the third face-off in a row

May 1, 2022 will see the final regular-season game in the entire National Hockey League. In the Canadian province of Manitoba, local Winnipeg will host Seattle at the Canada Life Centre at 21:00 (UTC+3).

Winnipeg has had an extremely unsuccessful regular season. In recent years the Jets managed to make the playoffs and get closer to the cherished Stanley Cup, but this season they haven't managed to do much. Injuries of key players, lack of maximum concentration on the games against the opponents of a comparable level, and mistakes of the coaching staff were the reasons for that. In spite of the fact that the White and Blues lost their chances of making playoffs a long time ago, in the last three games, they defeated Colorado, Philadelphia, and Calgary with a total score of 11-2, having saved the 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

Seattle is an NHL debutant that wasn't formed until 2021. For sure, the Kraken were facing the history of Vegas, who reached the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season, but the next newcomer to the league has failed to repeat that feat. The Blues management had a poor showing in the expansion draft, so they had to bolster their roster in the course of the league and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In the last five matches, Seattle was able to get only two points, beating San Jose 3-0, thus finishing 15th in the Western Conference standings.

Winnipeg and Seattle will close out the NHL regular season in 2021/22. Both teams have already lost their chances of making the playoffs, so they're playing for fun at the end of the regular season. The last home game the Kraken played was yesterday when they beat San Jose, and now the final game on home ice will be played by the Jets who will try to please the crowd. Dave Lowry's players are much stronger than their opponent in terms of the squad, that is why we should bet on the victory of Winnipeg with the odds of 1.86.

Key stats

• Winnipeg won the last three games in a row in the main time;
• Seattle has lost four of the last five games;
• Winnipeg has beaten Seattle in all two head-to-head encounters in the history of the rivalry;
• Seattle has not been able to score on the road in four straight games.

Winnipeg's offense suddenly awoke at the end of the regular season, scoring 11 goals (3.67 average per game) in their last three games. Meanwhile, Seattle's defense finally fell apart, conceding 19 goals (4.75 average per game) in their previous four road games, which is a very poor mark. Moreover, in two faceoffs in the current regular season, the Jets have hit the Kraken goal eight times (4.00 average per game), so the optimal option to bet on seems like Winnipeg's Total Over 3.5 pucks at odds close to 1.90.

Pierre-Luc Dubois has risen to the status of Winnipeg's first center forward over the past season and a half. The Canadian joined the Jets' roster during the last regular season, but he needed time to adjust. Now the 23-year-old has become a true leader for the Blues and Whites with 59 points (28 goals + 31 assists) in 80 games played. He has only two points left to reach his personal best efficiency record, but he has one game left to do so. The task seems feasible, so it is worth looking at a bet on Pierre-Luc Dubois's Total Over (0.5) points combined with Winnipeg's double chance at about 2.65.

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