NHL Thursday best bets: Jets to win fourth straight in Columbus

We have a jam-packed eight-game slate to look forward to Thursday night. Let's waste no time in getting to our best bets.

This contest doesn't seem overly exciting on the surface, but there's potential for a sneaky amount of offense.

Although the Kraken aren't overloaded with marquee names and flashy stars, they're a very deep and talented team. It has a lot of balance in the lineup and gets scoring from top to bottom.

Not many clubs can match Seattle's scoring depth, which is why it ranks fifth in the NHL with nearly 3.50 goals per game.

The Flyers appear to be buying what John Tortorella is selling. But I think they'll have a tough time limiting the damage Seattle's attack can cause, especially on the road. Philadelphia has allowed 3.23 expected goals per 60 minutes over the last 10 away dates, a far cry from the 2.88 it conceded over the past 10 home games.

The good news for the Flyers is that there's reason to believe they can also score their fair share of goals. The Kraken are strong defensively, but it doesn't much matter with the way their goaltenders are playing.

Martin Jones has fallen apart lately, posting a .886 save percentage over his last 10 starts. Philipp Grubauer hasn't been as bad but still owns a save percentage below the league average and has allowed three goals in three of his past four starts.

I expect the Flyers to score two or three (if not more) in this spot. Given the overwhelming depth of the Kraken's attack, that should be more than enough to push this game over the number.

Bet: Over 5.5 (-130)

After hitting a bit of a rut, the Jets appear to have found their game. They've won three straight and posted some encouraging underlying numbers over the past 10.

In that time, Winnipeg controlled 53.41% of the shot attempts at five-on-five and ranked top 10 in generating high-danger scoring chances.

That spells trouble for the Blue Jackets. They continue to struggle mightily at full strength, posting a 43.68% expected goal share (29th) over the last 10 games.

Columbus isn't creating quality chances with any regularity, while opponents are generating shots in bulk at the other end of the rink.

A lack of chance volume doesn't bode well for the Blue Jackets to succeed given they're going up against an all-world goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck. He's red-hot, too, posting a .917 save percentage or better in five of his last six starts.

It's going to be tough for Joonas Korpisalo to match that. Not only will he likely see a much more difficult workload, but he'll enter the matchup in worse form.

Korpisalo has quietly put together a strong season - especially given the team in front of him - but he's tailed off lately. Korpisalo has allowed 27 goals over his last six starts (nearly four per game) and posted a .885 save percentage or worse in four of them.

The Jets are going to test Korpisalo heavily, and they have plenty of talented weapons who'll account for a lot of the shots heading his way. I don't see Korpisalo holding up behind a putrid Blue Jackets defense.

Look for Winnipeg to win its fourth straight game and do so inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Jets in regulation (-130)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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