Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction, NHL Odds
After a disastrous start to their campaign, Minnesota is looking like they have figured things out and are playing their best brand of hockey thus far.
Vancouver has not been able to string together wins as of late, winning just four of their past 10 games. Their recent struggles have knocked them out of second in the division for the first time this season.
Puck drop from Rogers Arena in Vancouver is set for 10:00 PM EST. Keep updated on our Moneyline, Puckline and Over/Under for Tuesday night’s matchup on our NHL odds.
Wild vs. Canucks NHL Betting Odds
Minnesota has had the Canucks’ number over the past two seasons, sweeping them 6-0 heading into their first head-to-head this season. That six-game stretch has featured very close contests, with the Wild winning by more than a goal only once. They have been low-scoring affairs as well, playing the UNDER in four of those competitions.
Minnesota has been locking things down defensively, helping them to their four-game win streak. They have given up two goals only once over their past four and have kept the games low-scoring, playing the UNDER in six of the last 10. Before going on their current run, they were doing pretty well at keeping the games close, helping them cover the spread in eight of their last 10. The Wild have improved their record ATS to 13-9 and are playing the OVER/UNDER 12-9-1 so far this season.
No team in the Western Conference has hit the OVER more than the Canucks have this season at 15-8-2. They still boast the highest-scoring offence in the league averaging 3.88 goals per game, but they have been a disaster defensively, allowing three or more in seven of their past 10. Vancouver was overlooked to start the season, boosting their impressive record against the spread to 17-8. Lately, they have been listed as the favourite and that has hurt their numbers ATS, covering just four times in the last 10 games.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota opened their current Western Canadian road trip on Tuesday in Calgary, treating the Flames to a 5-2 beating and increasing their win streak to four games.
The Wild got on the board in a hurry, burying their first of the night just over a minute into the first. They followed that up with back-to-back goals in the first 90 seconds of the second period to go up 3-0 before the Flames got themselves on the board. They would add another goal late in the second and another in the third for the 5-2 final. Matt Boldy had his best performance of the season in this one, scoring his fourth and fifth of the season and adding an assist. He has scored in back-to-back games now and has five points over the past four games. New head coach John Hynes has seemed to get him back on track after a tough opening quarter of the season.
As most of the team did, goalie Filip Gustavsson struggled through the first of the season. The 25-year-old’s numbers are improving though and he has emerged as the better of the team’s tandem. He won his past three starts, allowing just 1.3 goals per game.
Vancouver Canucks
Consistency has been the main struggle for the Canucks as of late, trading wins and losses over the past 10 games.
Vancouver’s comeback attempt came up just short on Tuesday night, dropping their game against the Devils 6-5. The first period featured six goals, but only two from the Canucks going into the second down 4-2.
In the second period, New Jersey scored a powerplay goal to increase their lead to 5-2, putting the struggling Canucks penalty kill in an even worse situation. They have been scored on with a man down in each of the past five games, knocking their percentage below 75.
The ‘Nucks showed life in the third period, scoring three goals in a row to tie things at five apiece. If they had held off the Devils for 30 more seconds they would have picked up a point in back-to-back games for the first time since November 15th. They could not do it though, giving up the sixth goal of the game and losing 6-5.
Quinn Hughes had a pair of assists in the third period, sparking the comeback in a game versus both of his brothers. He still leads defenceman in scoring with 36 points in 26 games.
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