The Habs are -120 favourites on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5 goals.

Wild vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds

The Minnesota Wild are one of a handful of teams never to win a Stanley Cup and one of five never to reach the Finals – the Minnesota North Stars lost in the Finals twice, but they took all team records with them to Dallas – along with Columbus, Seattle, Utah and Winnipeg. At full strength, they are capable of getting there this season and are +1000 to win the West and +2000 for the Cup.

Alas, the Wild are not full strength and won’t be for at least a month as leading scorer and former Hart Trophy betting favourite Kirill Kaprizov (23G, 29A) will have surgery on a lower-body injury, but it’s not season ending. The Russian was tied for second in the NHL in goals while tied for fourth in scoring when he was hurt on Dec. 23 against Chicago and missed a month. Kaprizov had two assists in three games after returning but still wasn’t right and the decision was made. That the league is taking more than a week off for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that runs Feb. 12-20 actually benefits the Wild in terms of games Kaprizov will miss.

Minnesota goes for the season sweep as it beat visiting Montreal 3-0 on Nov. 14. Kaprizov had one of the goals, an empty-netter. The Canadiens only put 19 shots on Filip Gustavsson. Sam Montembeault stopped 25 shots for the Habs.

The Wild are 9-1 in the past 10 meetings – last loss in October 2019 – and the over-under is 4-6.

Minnesota Wild

It’s the second of a back-to-back for Minnesota after a 2-1 win in Toronto on Wednesday, the team’s second straight victory after a two-game slide. Marat Khusnutdinov (second of season), Jared Spurgeon (sixth) and Marcus Foligno (ninth) had the goals. It was the 400^th career point for the blueliner and captain Spurgeon to tie Zach Parise for third place on the Wild all-time list. Filip Gustavsson was in net for the second straight game, but it will be Quebec native and future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury tonight. The 40-year-old is 10-5-1 with a 2.76 GAA and .904 SV and this is expected the be the final start of his career against his hometown team with “Flower” set to retire. Don’t be surprised if Minnesota scores first as it did on Wednesday for the 31^st time this season. That’s second-most in the league. The under is 7-2 in the Wild’s past nine against the East. 

Montreal Canadiens

After playing great hockey for weeks, the Canadiens lost their third straight game (longest since a six-game streak from Oct. 29-Nov. 9) Tuesday, 4-1 at home to Winnipeg. Montreal has scored just six goals during the slide. Juraj Slafkovsky’s eighth goal of the season gave the Habs the lead at 11:03 against the Jets, but they couldn’t solve former Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck again. It was the fourth goal in the last seven outings for Slafkovsky, the ex-No. 1 overall pick. Brendan Gallagher skated in his 802nd career NHL game to pass Jean-Guy Talbot for sole possession of 20th place in franchise history. Next up is Ralph Backstrom at 844 games. Blueliner Kaiden Guhle (4G, 10A) suffered a lower-body injury in the third period and is out indefinitely. Sam Montembeault was in net Tuesday, so it will be rookie Jakub Dobes in this one. He has been terrific overall at 5-0-1 with a 1.93 GAA and .933 SV but has allowed four goals in back-to-back games. Montreal is 3-15 in its past 18 Thursday games.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Wild vs. Canadiens?

• Regular Season

Wild Team Leaders

MIN

Points	Matt Boldy 55
+ / -	Kirill Kaprizov 19
Shots	Matt Boldy 229
Penalty Mins	Marcus Foligno 64
Wins	Filip Gustavsson 25
GAA	Filip Gustavsson 2.57

MON

Points	Nick Suzuki 69
+ / -	Nick Suzuki 11
Shots	Cole Caufield 194
Penalty Mins	Arber Xhekaj 97
Wins	Sam Montembeault 23
GAA	Jakub Dobes 2.71

• Regular Season

Canadiens Team Leaders

MIN

Points	Matt Boldy 55
+ / -	Kirill Kaprizov 19
Shots	Matt Boldy 229
Penalty Mins	Marcus Foligno 64
Wins	Filip Gustavsson 25
GAA	Filip Gustavsson 2.57

MON

Points	Nick Suzuki 69
+ / -	Nick Suzuki 11
Shots	Cole Caufield 194
Penalty Mins	Arber Xhekaj 97
Wins	Sam Montembeault 23
GAA	Jakub Dobes 2.71

Injuries

Minnesota

Zach Bogosian (D)

Ques Sun Lower Body - 01 / 03 / 25

Ryan Hartman (RW)

Out indefinitely Suspension - 04 / 02 / 25

Kirill Kaprizov (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 28 / 01 / 25

Marcus Johansson (LW)

Out indefinitely Concussion - 16 / 01 / 25

Marc-Andre Fleury (G)

Ques Sat Illness - 09 / 01 / 25

Frederick Gaudreau (C)

Ques Thurs Illness - 06 / 01 / 25

Mats Zuccarello (RW)

Ques Thurs Illness - 06 / 01 / 25

Jared Spurgeon (D)

Late Jan Lower Body - 01 / 01 / 25

Kirill Kaprizov (LW)

Late Jan Lower Body - 27 / 12 / 24

Yakov Trenin (C)

Out indefinitely Upper Body - 14 / 12 / 24

Montreal

Josh Anderson (RW)

Ques Thurs Upper Body - 26 / 02 / 25

Kirby Dach (C)

out for season Knee - 24 / 02 / 25

Michael Pezzetta (LW)

Ques Sat Lower Body - 18 / 02 / 25

Kaiden Guhle (D)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 29 / 01 / 25

Josh Anderson (RW)

Ques Sat Undisclosed - 25 / 01 / 25

Brendan Gallagher (RW)

Ques Sat Undisclosed - 25 / 01 / 25

Emil Heineman (LW)

Out indefinitely Upper Body - 14 / 01 / 25

Alex Newhook (C)

Ques Tues Flu - 13 / 01 / 25

David Savard (D)

Ques Sat Upper Body - 03 / 01 / 25

David Savard (D)

Ques Sat Upper Body - 12 / 12 / 24

Injuries

Minnesota

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Zach Bogosian (D)	Ques Sun	Lower Body - 01 / 03 / 25	1-3	3-1	+ -
Bagosian is dealing with a lower body injury, and it is unknown if he will suit up against the Bruins on Sunday.
Ryan Hartman (RW)	Out indefinitely	Suspension - 04 / 02 / 25	4-6	6-4	+ -
Hartman is facing a a ten-game suspension for roughing, and he will miss an extended period.
Kirill Kaprizov (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 28 / 01 / 25	7-6	6-6-1	+ -
Kaprizov has been placed on long term injured reserve after undergoing surgery on his lower body, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.
Marcus Johansson (LW)	Out indefinitely	Concussion - 16 / 01 / 25	8-11	9-9-1	+ -
Johansson is placed on the injured reserve list with a concussion, and he will miss an extended period.
Marc-Andre Fleury (G)	Ques Sat	Illness - 09 / 01 / 25	10-12	11-10-1	+ -
Fleury missed the last game while he is dealing with an illness, and it is unknown if he will return on Saturday against the Sharks.
Frederick Gaudreau (C)	Ques Thurs	Illness - 06 / 01 / 25	11-12	11-11-1	+ -
Gaudreau is ailing with an illness, and it has yet to be established if he will be active against the Avalanche on Thursday.
Mats Zuccarello (RW)	Ques Thurs	Illness - 06 / 01 / 25	11-12	11-11-1	+ -
Zuccarello is ailing with an illness, and it is up in the air if he will get back on the ice against the Avalanche on Thursday.
Jared Spurgeon (D)	Late Jan	Lower Body - 01 / 01 / 25	13-13	13-12-1	+ -
Spurgeon is placed on the injured reserve list with a lower body injury, and is expected to miss the next two-to-three weeks.
Kirill Kaprizov (LW)	Late Jan	Lower Body - 27 / 12 / 24	14-14	14-13-1	+ -
Kaprizov has missed the last seven games with a lower body injury, but is expected to return shortly.
Yakov Trenin (C)	Out indefinitely	Upper Body - 14 / 12 / 24	16-18	16-17-1	+ -
Trenin has landed on the injury reserve list due to an upper body injury, and it is unknown when he will be active again.

Montreal

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Josh Anderson (RW)	Ques Thurs	Upper Body - 26 / 02 / 25	3-2	2-3	+ -
Anderson is battling an upper body injury, and it is undetermined if he will be active against the Sharks on Thursday.
Kirby Dach (C)	out for season	Knee - 24 / 02 / 25	4-2	3-3	+ -
Dach has landed on the injured reserve list with a right knee injury, and he has been shut down for the remainder of the season.
Michael Pezzetta (LW)	Ques Sat	Lower Body - 18 / 02 / 25	4-4	4-4	+ -
Pezzetta is dealing with a lower body injury, and it is unclear if he will be available against the Flames on Saturday.
Kaiden Guhle (D)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 29 / 01 / 25	4-9	6-7	+ -
Guhle will undergo surgery to repair a lacerated quadricep muscle, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.
Josh Anderson (RW)	Ques Sat	Undisclosed - 25 / 01 / 25	5-10	7-7-1	+ -
Anderson is hampered by an undisclosed injury, and it is uncertain if he will take the court against the Devils on Saturday.
Brendan Gallagher (RW)	Ques Sat	Undisclosed - 25 / 01 / 25	5-10	7-7-1	+ -
Gallagher is managing an undisclosed injury, and it is up in the air if he will play against the Devils on Saturday.
Emil Heineman (LW)	Out indefinitely	Upper Body - 14 / 01 / 25	11-11	10-11-1	+ -
Heineman has landed on the injured reserve list due to an upper-body injury after being involved in a traffic accident, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.
Alex Newhook (C)	Ques Tues	Flu - 13 / 01 / 25	11-11	10-11-1	+ -
Newhook is dealing with a flu, and it is unclear if he will dress against the Hockey Club on Tuesday.
David Savard (D)	Ques Sat	Upper Body - 03 / 01 / 25	14-12	11-13-2	+ -
Savard is dealing with an upper body, and it is unclear if he will face the Stars on Saturday.
David Savard (D)	Ques Sat	Upper Body - 12 / 12 / 24	20-15	16-15-4	+ -
Savard is dealing with an upper body injury, and it is undetermined if he will dress against the Jets on Saturday.