Free Picks: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg is known as a solid defensive squad. However, when facing elite players like Auston Matthews, the Jets have allowed their fair share of shots against. Friday night, I take a look at Auston Matthews and his total shots against the Jets. In earlier instances, Matthews has never really been challenged by Winnipeg in the shooting column. Will that trend continue Friday night?

Easily one of the most talked-about players on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews has been turning heads since his debut with the buds back in 2016. Since then, Matthews has been a sharpshooter from all over the ice and continues to be a menace every time he touches the puck.

But life hasn’t always been beautiful for the 23-year-old. This season alone, Matthews has faced a ton of adversity in the points and goal column. Matthews has been held off the scoresheet on multiple occasions. And if he did find a way to etch his name on the official sheet, it wasn’t because he was scoring.

After recently snapping a 5-game goal drought, I wanted to focus on the red-hot Matthews when Toronto takes on the Winnipeg Jets. This is certainly not one of my usual BetPicks predictions that focuses on total goals or the Money Line. Instead, I want to focus on Matthews and his shooting ability.

See, even when the star forward struggles to pot goals, the good thing is that he still remains a threat by shooting. While the Matthews-code has been cracked multiple times this season, he certainly made it a challenge for the opposition.

Currently riding a 3-game streak with a goal, I think betting on the over in total shots by Matthews is your best NHL bet for Friday night. When players like Matthews are scoring regularly, you know he is shooting from all over the ice.

This season, Matthews has picked up 133 shots in 33 games. Good for 4.03 shots per game, Matthews is a pillar to the Maple Leafs’ offense.

He also fires the puck a ton against Winnipeg. In 5 games this season, Matthews has failed to tally more than 5 shots against the Jets just twice. It’s an unusual bet, but Matthews is a pure shooter and I think his offensive presence will continue on Friday.

The Jets themselves allow 31 shots per game. All signs are pointing for Matthews to rack up the shots on net Friday night.

• Matthews averages 4 shots per game against Winnipeg.
• Matthews averages 6.75 shot attempts per game this season.
• The Jets rank 10^th in shots against per game.
• Matthews has tallied over 1100 shots in his career.