Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues Prediction, NHL Odds
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Nik Kowalski
The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues will conclude their regular seasons Thursday night when they battle in St. Louis for the second night in a row. The Blues got the better of the Wild last night, shutting them out 4-0. Ville Husso earned his first career shutout in the win.
And with the Wild losing, they will officially be the third seed in the West Division. St. Louis will finish fourth, and based on Thursday’s Los Angeles–Colorado result, each team will find out whether they play the Avalanche or Vegas in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Puck drop at Enterprise Center goes at 8 p.m. EST.
Wild vs. Blues Betting Analysis
The Blues are on an 8-1-1 run against the Wild over their last 10 meetings and are a perfect 3-0 against Minnesota at home this season. Wednesday’s 4-0 win was the Blues first shutout this season.
Keeping Minnesota off the score sheet also kept several Under streaks going. Five of St. Louis’ last six games have gone Under, as well as four of their last five at home. Thursday’s total is listed at an even 6.0 with the game a pick’em on the NHL odds.
Minnesota Wild
Wednesday was the first time the Wild were shut out since March 20, and it was just their second regulation loss in their past 10 games. The good news would be that Minnesota is 3-0 this season after getting shut out, but keep in mind, Thursday has no actual implications in the standings.
There’s a good chance Dean Evason rests some of his key guys for Thursday, including team leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov. The 24-year-old rookie has 51 points this season to lead all rookies en route to a probable Calder Trophy win. Kevin Fiala could get the night off too after putting forth his second-straight 20-goal campaign despite the trimmed seasons over the last two years.
With Cam Talbot starting in net on Wednesday, expect rookie Kaapo Kahkonen to go Thursday.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues are entering the post-season with some serious momentum after going 6-1-3 over their last 10 games. A win Thursday would make for a three-game win streak too. Like Minnesota, the Blues may look at resting some guys Thursday too.
Veteran forwards David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will both likely get the night off. They are tied for the team lead with 52 points thanks to a three-point night from Perron on Wednesday. O’Reilly has a team-high 24 goals and will likely be the Blues only 20-goal scorer this season.
Starting goalie Jordan Binnington could also get another night off to remain fresh for the playoffs, meaning it could be Husso again or even recent call-up Joel Hofer in net for the Blues.
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