Analyzing Thursday’s Winnipeg Jets at Boston Bruins odds and lines, with NHL expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Bruins will get a boost on their blue line on Thursday night, as defenseman Charlie McAvoy will rejoin the lineup when Boston hosts the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden.

Before the Western Conference leader Winnipeg faces the best team in the Eastern Conference on Saturday, the Bruins will give them a pitstop in Boston.

Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo will both be back on the Bruins blue line leaving Hampus Lindholm as the only defenseman missing. Mark Kastelic remains out of the lineup, but there was good news on him as well as he was back at morning skate on Thursday.

The Boston Bruins host the Winnipeg Jets this evening at TD Garden, and the NHL odds list Winnipeg as a -132 favorite. Winnipeg is in tremendous form, winning eight of its past 11 games. Six of those eight wins have come by at least a two-goal margin, and my Jets vs. Bruins predictions expect this trend to continue in Boston.

If the Bruins are going to lock down one of the eight playoff seeds in the East, the hope rests largely on Charlie McAvoy's broad shoulders, along with those of Hampus Lindholm.

While speaking to reporters, Bruins head coach Joe Sacco confirmed that star defenseman Charlie McAvoy will be back in the lineup against the Jets. McAvoy, 27, missed each of the

Winnipeg Jets forward Parker Ford will make his NHL debut tonight against the Boston Bruins. The Jets signed the Wakefield, RI native to an entry-level contract on Mar. 25, 2023, after he completed four years at Providence College. During his NCAA career, Ford scored 41 goals and 94 points in 131 games.

Thursday night in the NHL features the Winnipeg Jets visiting the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in a tantalizing matchup. Welcome to NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey, where we preview and predict the upcoming slate of NHL games around the league each day!

Ford’s edgy play might come in handy against a Boston team the Jets thumped, 8-1, when they last met in December. Not to mention a 7-2 loss the Bruins suffered to lowly Buffalo on Tuesday. “They’re going to be a little ornery,” Arniel acknowledged. “But there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since that game. For both teams.”

On top of welcoming his first child with his wife, Kiley, on Sunday, the Boston Bruins defenseman was named an alternate captain for Team USA for the upcoming NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.