New Jersey Devils vs Winnipeg Jets Picks and Predictions January 27th 2026

The Winnipeg Jets visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at Prudential Center in Newark, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 PM ET. Both teams are chasing playoff position, but neither has looked like itself for long stretches. Winnipeg is 20-24-7 after a sharp early start collapsed into months of uneven play. New Jersey is 27-23-2, still afloat, yet stuck in that frustrating pattern where the offense comes in waves.

The Devils just finished a road trip with a 4-2 loss in Seattle where a tied game turned into a third-period problem. The Jets are coming off a 5-1 home loss to Detroit that got ugly late, and the recent scoring has been thin. This is basically a “who settles first” game, and I think the goalie situation and injury list push the handicap more than the raw standings do.

These teams also met on January 11 in Winnipeg, a 4-3 Jets win in a game with some lineup noise. The rematch angle matters, but not as much as the current form: Winnipeg is struggling to create, and New Jersey is struggling to finish.

Winnipeg Jets vs New Jersey Devils Odds

These are the current betting lines, and bettors should always monitor updated latest NHL odds leading up to puck drop.

Team	Moneyline	Puck Line	Total
Winnipeg Jets	+106	+1.5 (-235)	U 5.5 (+100)
New Jersey Devils	-125	-1.5 (+196)	O 5.5 (-118)

Winnipeg Jets Betting Form

Winnipeg’s biggest issue right now is that the offense doesn’t travel well when they are not winning the neutral-zone game. You still get moments from the top guys, but the five-on-five scoring has been spotty, and when they fall behind, the comeback plan is not exactly convincing. Lately it has felt like they need the first goal just to play their game.

From a betting perspective, that usually points you toward protection rather than trusting the full moneyline. I get why bettors gravitate to +1.5 in Jets games, because so many of their losses are tight when the structure holds. The problem is the price, and it forces you to be selective. If you’re tracking the patterns, the Winnipeg Jets stats and results page makes it pretty clear when they’re generating enough to justify a dog shot versus just hanging on.

Availability matters here, so monitor the Winnipeg Jets injury report before puck drop. Winnipeg is missing key blue-line pieces, with Colin Miller on IR (knee) and Haydn Fleury on IR (upper body), and Neal Pionk has been on IR and trending week-to-week. When a team is already fighting to score, losing puck movers on the back end can quietly wreck their transition game.

New Jersey Devils Betting Form

New Jersey’s story is slightly different. They can create looks, especially off the rush, but the finishing has been inconsistent, and that keeps dragging them into one-goal games. Even during better stretches, it’s not rare to see them cap out at two or three goals. That’s fine if the goaltending is stable. It’s a problem if it isn’t.

The Devils’ injury list matters a lot here because it hits both their depth and their blue-line matchup options. Luke Hughes is on LTIR with a shoulder injury, and Stefan Noesen and Zack MacEwen are also on LTIR. Marc McLaughlin is on IR as well. That’s not a small thing, and it changes how I think about New Jersey’s five-on-five ceiling and their ability to protect leads. For home splits and recent results, New Jersey Devils schedule and stats is the cleanest snapshot.

Availability matters here, so monitor the New Jersey Devils injury report before puck drop. If any late scratches show up around puck drop, it can swing both the total and whether New Jersey is worth laying a number with.

Winnipeg Jets vs New Jersey Devils Matchup Breakdown

This matchup looks like a pace-control game. New Jersey wants to own the middle of the ice, force Winnipeg into dump-and-change hockey, then win the second puck. Winnipeg’s best path is to keep the game structured, stay out of the box, and hope the top line creates enough to steal it.

Special teams is the swing lane. If penalties pile up, the total becomes fragile fast. If the whistle stays quiet, this leans toward a lower-event five-on-five script where one bad turnover or one rebound goal decides it. That’s why I don’t mind looking Under first, then deciding whether you want to tie yourself to a side.

Goaltending is the last piece, and it’s a big one. Jake Allen is confirmed for New Jersey. Winnipeg’s starter is not fully confirmed, with Connor Hellebuyck listed as unconfirmed, and that matters because Hellebuyck’s recent results have been shaky while Eric Comrie has been better in his last couple of appearances. If it’s Hellebuyck, you’re betting on a rebound. If it’s Comrie, it changes the confidence level on the Under and the dog angle a bit. I think bettors sometimes ignore that nuance because the jersey says Hellebuyck, but the last few weeks have been rough.

If you want a sharper framework for when to play moneylines versus puck lines versus totals in spots like this, the NHL betting guide is worth using as a checklist. And if you’re also thinking about the “what does this mean long-term” angle for either team as the season tightens, the Stanley Cup betting guide helps keep those futures conversations grounded.

Winnipeg Jets vs New Jersey Devils Predictions and Best Bets

My lean is New Jersey moneyline at -125, but it’s not a slam dunk. It’s more of a “they’re the more functional team at home, and they have the confirmed goalie” type of bet. Winnipeg’s scoring form has been poor, and on the road, that tends to get exposed unless the goalie steals it.

I’m not excited about New Jersey -1.5 even at a plus price. This just feels like a one-goal game more often than not. Winnipeg’s whole survival plan is to keep it close, and New Jersey hasn’t exactly been blasting teams away during this stretch. If you like the Devils, I think the cleaner approach is moneyline or even a tighter derivative if your book offers it, but I’m sticking to the core markets here.

On the total, I lean Under 5.5 at plus money. Allen being confirmed helps, and both teams have been living in low-scoring stretches for different reasons. The way this loses is special teams chaos or a leaky Winnipeg start that forces the Jets to open up. But if this stays mostly five-on-five, I think the Under is the better value than trying to predict which struggling offense suddenly looks sharp.

Best Bet: Under 5.5 (+100).

NHL Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats

If you’re betting NHL every day, the advantage is rarely one magic stat. It’s process, timing, and comparing opinions without getting sucked into narratives. That’s why I like scanning today’s NHL picks early, then circling back closer to puck drop when goalies and late lineup news are clearer.

The other edge is transparency. It’s easier to trust an angle when you can verify how an expert performs across the full season, not just a hot week. Use the top sports handicappers page to find styles that match how you bet, then validate it on the live handicapper leaderboard. If you want more game-by-game writeups across the slate, the NHL previews hub keeps everything organized. And when you’re ready to scale up beyond free plays, buy expert picks and focus on consistency, not just big plus-money swings.