Hot Events: Canadian Teams Hit the Ice & Court – Best Bets for Friday Night!

Buckle up for a Friday night slate loaded with Canadian action! We have the Toronto Raptors coming off back to back wins in Orlando, which UBET was live on-location for, followed by the Winnipeg Jets on the road in Jersey and Vancouver hosting the Minnesota Wild.

With just under 6 weeks remaining in the NBA and NHL, there’s a lot of playoff implications in play for each of these teams. Some sitting comfortably in postseason position, while others are in complete tank mode, some pulling it off better than others.

So let’s get into it. Here’s who we like heading into the weekend!

Utah Jazz vs Toronto Raptors

Pick: Toronto Raptors -6.5 (-104)

There’s been a lot of mixed emotions for Raptors fans. Toronto just capped off a four game road trip where they started off losing to both the Pacers and Bulls on the road and then winning back to back games against the Orlando Magic. 

In some respects, it’s great to see some of these younger pieces step up and get the job done. On the other hand, the Raptors have not done a great job of losing games and improving their reverse standings position. Tuesday was a prime example of a clear brazen attempt to tank and it turned around to bite them. Coach Darko drew up a play down by two, for rookie Ja’Kobe Walter, somehow gets off an acrobatic contested three, and nails it. Of course, it’s exciting to see the young guns build confidence and chemistry, but racking up wins at this point of the season is not what the Raptors should be doing, with their current position in the standings.

So, what does this mean for the Raptors Friday night? They host the Utah Jazz who are one of the worst teams in the league. While they aren’t technically ‘the worst’ (that award goes to Washington) they’re right there. In fact, they just lost to the lowly Wizards on Wednesday to kick off this 5 game road trip. They have the ability to lose to teams struggling more than they are and are injured up and down their lineup. They’ve dropped 5 of their last 6 games, and with Toronto coming off a few days rest, this will likely be a home win for the Raps by more than 7 points. There are injuries on the Raptors side as well, so if you’d rather parlay the Raptors on a moneyline with a big game from Scottie Barnes or Immanuel Quickley, it could be a safe alternative. 

Winnipeg Jets vs New Jersey Devils

Pick: Winnipeg Jets Moneyline (-126)

The Jets have cooled down just a little bit after going on an incredible 11 game win streak. This actually broke Winnipeg’s franchise record for most consecutive wins. Not only that but they find themselves with the best record and most points in the entire league. With the Vezina Trophy favourite in Connor Hellebuyck, and one of the top defences in the league, this squad is an absolute wagon.

Even though they’ve dropped the last 3 of 4 games, they righted the ship against the Philadelphia Flyers amidst this four game road trip. Now they head into Jersey who has just been dealt some heavy injury blows. The Devils will be without Dougie Hamilton Friday night with a lower body injury. More importantly though, Jersey will be without star-forward Jack Hiughes as he’s done for the rest of the season. Hughes suffered the injury during the third period of Sunday's 2-0 loss to Vegas. He'll finish the 2024-25 campaign with 27 goals and 70 points in 62 appearances. Hughes is a vital part of the Devils' forward corps, and this is a devastating blow to say the least.

The Devils have dropped their last two, so the fact that Winnipeg is still listed as slight underdogs on UBET.io, it feels like a good value play on Friday night. 

Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks

Pick: Minnesota Wild Moneyline (+113)

Another value play here as Minneosta is coming off two straight wins, after beating Boston at home and edging out the Kraken in Seattle. They now hop north of the border to face the Vancouver Canucks who are clearly working through their own issues. Things have not been clicking for this Nucks squad that haven’t been the same since dealing JT Miller back to the Rangers. Miller just recorded his second straight multi-point performance, which extended his current point streak to six games. The 31-year-old center is thriving in his return to the Big Apple -- he's racked up seven goals and 14 points through 11 appearances with the Rangers.

A much different story for Canucks forward Elias Peterson, who Vancouver elected to keep in the divorce. He has recorded just 2 assists since the beginning of February. What about goals you ask? What about them? He hasn’t found the back of the net since January 21st.

Looking at injuries, Minnesota is obviously without key players like Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov, but Vancouver is also without goaltender Thatcher Demko and likely their star defenseman Quinn Hughes who is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. 

With a 2-4 record over their last 6 games, it’s hard to have any sort of faith in this 67 point Vancouver squad. With UBET.io listing the Canucks as favourites against the 76 point Minnesota Wild, who currently hold the 3rd best record in the Central division, it’s a return on MInnesota that is totally worth a look.