Minnesota Wild vs. Edmonton Oilers Prediction, NHL Odds
If Edmonton wins the Pacific Division and Minnesota earns one of the West’s two Wild-Card spots, these teams could meet in the first round of the playoffs. However, it’s looking less and less likely that the Wild will earn a playoff spot with a handful of teams ahead of them. Minnesota has to get hot now.
Last Friday, the team fired Coach Bruce Boudreau. He was in his fourth season and didn’t have a contract after this one. The Wild made playoffs just twice under Boudreau, in his first two years. Minnesota lost in the first round in five games both times. Dean Evason is the interim coach and wants the team to play at quicker tempo. Evason played for Team Canada in the 1997 World Championships and for five NHL teams, including the Flames.
Wild vs. Oilers Betting Analysis
This wraps up the season series between these teams with Minnesota leading 2-0 – taking both at home and back in the 2019 portion of the schedule. Eric Staal (3G, 2A) leads the Wild with five points, while Jordan Greenway (1G, 3A) has four in the series. Three Wild netminders have seen action, allowing five total goals on 58 shots. Oscar Klefbom (1G, 1A), James Neal (1G, 1A) and Connor McDavid (1G, 1A) lead Edmonton with two points each. Mike Smith lost both, allowing nine goals on 56 shots.
Minnesota is 14-3 in its past 17 in Edmonton.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild picked up two crucial points Wednesday in a 4-3 shootout win in Vancouver to snap a two-game skid. Recent trade acquisition Alex Galchenyuk’s sixth goal of the season tied it at 15:15 of the third, and he scored the winner in the shootout – yet wasn’t one of the game’s three stars. Kevin Fiala (15th of season) and Luke Kunin (13th) had the other Wild goals. Fiala has six of his 15 goals in the past eight games (11 total points in that span). Mats Zuccarello had a pair of assists. Devan Dubnyk stopped 31 of 34 shots. He’s not having a great season but has been better of late, allowing three goals or fewer in four of his past five starts.
Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton’s two-game winning streak ended in a 2-1 home OT loss to an excellent Boston Bruins team on Wednesday. Sam Gagner’s fifth of the season got the Oilers even at 3:42 in the third, but Hart Trophy candidate David Pastrnak won it at 1:14 of OT. Smith actually was the No. 1 star in the loss with 32 saves. Six regulars were out for Edmonton, led by McDavid and Klefbom, who leads the team in ice time. Neither is close to a return from injury. Blueliner Darnell Nurse played a whopping 29:58, a season high, in the loss with Klefbom and Kris Russell out. Zack Kassian is in the midst of a seven-game suspension.
MIN
EDM