The Pittsburgh Penguins seemingly have righted the ship. After dropping six in a row, Pittsburgh has stabilized with back-to-back wins and are favorites to make it three in a row in a contest against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.
But are the Penguins truly back? You can only beat the teams in front of you, but wins over the Coyotes and Canucks aren’t really anything to write home about, and the Penguins needed to come back in both of those contests after bad starts.
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Penguins vs. Jets prediction(7 p.m. ET)
And if you look beyond those two victories, you’ll notice Pittsburgh’s play has trended down for quite some time. Over their last 10 games, the Pens have posted a -11 goal differential, and their expected goals rate is hovering around 48 percent. At their best, the Penguins are a tremendous five-on-five team, but right now, the numbers show this team to be closer to average than good.
Strong goaltending could provide a cover for a mediocre five-on-five play. Still, the Penguins lost starting goalie Tristan Jarry to injury, and Casey DeSmith is coming off a rough outing against the Canucks on Tuesday night.
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Pittsburgh is in a favorable schedule spot with the Jets traveling after playing Buffalo on Thursday night. Still, Winnipeg is a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, so getting the Jets as a decent underdog against a struggling team seems like a savvy bet.
Penguins vs. Jets pick
Jets moneyline +155 (BetRivers)