Minnesota Wild vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
Montreal is -145 on the NHL odds with a total of 6.5 goals.
Wild vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
The Minnesota Wild have not come close to reaching the Stanley Cup Finals as their only conference finals appearance was a four-game sweep vs. Anaheim in 2003. But circle Dec. 12, 2025, as the day the Wild won the 2026 Cup – if they happen to do so – as that’s when they shipped three players and a future first-round pick to Vancouver for All-Star defenceman Quinn Hughes.
The Wild are going all-in this season as evidenced by that trade and signing star forward Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The franchise hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015. Minnesota is +1000 to win the Western Conference and +2000 to hoist the Cup. It just happens to play in the wrong division with high-powered Colorado, so the Avalanche will likely be waiting in the conference semifinals should both advance.
Tuesday marks the first meeting of the season between the clubs with Montreal in the Twin Cities on Feb. 2. The Canadiens have been swept four straight season series by the Wild, outscored a combined 7-0 last season. Jakub Dobes and Sam Monteambeault each started once in net for Montreal. Frederick Gaudreau (1G, 2A), now with Seattle, and Marco Rossi (2G, 1A), now with Vancouver, led the Wild with three points each in the series. Filip Gustavsson and since-retired Marc-Andre Fleury each started once in net.
Montreal’s lone win in the past 10 in the series was Oct. 17, 2019, on the road. The over-under is 4-6 in those 10.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota is 2-0 on a three-game trip following a 6-3 win in Toronto on Monday despite playing without key injured forwards Marcus Johansson (34 points), Matt Boldy (51 points) and Joel Eriksson Ek (32 points) due to injury with none expected back tonight. Marcus Foligno had his first NHL hat trick, in his 915th career regular-season game, to double his season goals total. It was the first road hat trick for a Minnesota player since by Kirill Kaprizov almost two years to the day on Jan. 21, 2024 at Carolina. Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and a helper and has six points in a three-game streak. Minnesota’s 65 points have tied the 2021-22 club for the third-highest total through 50 games of a season, behind 2016-17 (71 points) and 2020-21 (68 points). Because Filip Gustavsson has started the past two in net, it should be Jesper Wallstedt tonight. The Swede has been better away at 6-1-3 with a 2.17 GAA and .926 SV. The over is 9-1 in the Wild’s past 10 away.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal avoided a winless three-game road trip with a 6-5 OT win in Ottawa on Saturday, rallying from down 5-3 in the third. Juraj Slafkovsky’s 19th goal of the season and second of game at 15:36 cut the deficit to a goal, and Alexandre Carrier’s fourth tied it at 16:41. It was the Canadiens’ seventh game-tying goal in the final five minutes of regulation this season, tied for the most in the league. Cole Caufield’s 24th of the year won it at 0:33 of OT. Caufield extended his franchise record for overtime goals to 12, which are the third-most in the NHL since he joined the league in 2020-21. Caufield also had a regulation goal and an assist and was the No. 1 star. Lane Hutson had three assists to become the second defenceman in team history to record 40 assists in a season in fewer than 50 games. Forward Jake Evans was activated off injured reserve and was +1 in 15:20. Sam Montembeault started in net and is 4-0-1 in his past five with a 2.90 GAA. He likely gets the call again. Montreal is 5-1 in its past six at home.
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