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The Pittsburgh Penguins look to break their long losing streak as they host the Minnesota Wild. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Wild-Penguins prediction and pick.
The Wild come in sitting at 5-1-2 on the year. They are coming off their first loss in regulation. After being tied at three going into the third, they would be tied at five last in the third. The Flyers would score twice though, and beat the Wild 7-5. Meanwhile, the Penguins come into the game sitting at 3-6-1 on the year and have lost five straight games. Last time out, the Penguins visited the Vancouver Canucks. The Penguins took the 1-0 lead in the first period and made it 2-0 in the second period. Still, the Canucks would score four in the second period, going on to win the game 4-3 over the Penguins.
Here are the Wild-Penguins NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Wild-Penguins Odds
Minnesota Wild: -1.5 (+195)
Moneyline: -126
Pittsburgh Penguins: +1.5 (-240)
Moneyline: +105
Over: 6.5 (+104)
Under: 6.5 (-128)
How To Watch Wild vs Penguins
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why the Wild Could Cover the Spread/Win
Article Continues Below
The Wild's top line is led by Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi, and Mats Zuccarello. Kaprivoz led the way last year, with 46 goals 50 assists, and 50 total points. He has already had four goals and 11 assists this year. Rossi had 21 goals and 19 assists last year and has already scored three times with four assists this year. Finally, Zuccarello had 12 goals and 51 assists last year. He has four goals and four assists this year.
Matt Boldy has already been great this year. He leads the second line of the offense for the Wild. He has four goals and seven assists so far on the year. Boldy had 29 goals and 40 assists last year. Meanwhile, his linemate Marcus Johansson has scored once and has two assists this year. They are joined by Joel Eriksson Ek on the second line. Eriksson Ek has four goals and two assists this year.
Filip Gustavsson is expected to be in goal for the Wild in this one. He is 4-1-1 on the year with a 2.17 goals-against average. He is coming off his worst start of the year. He allowed six goals on 22 shots to take the loss. It was the first time all year he gave up more than two goals, and the first time this year he was below .939 in save percentage.
Why the Penguins Could Cover the Spread/Win
The top line for the Penguins is led by Sidney Crosby. Crosby led the team with 94 points last year, having 42 goals and 52 assists last year. Crosby has a goal and six assists on the year so far. Crosby is joined on the top line by Drew O'Connor and Richard Rakell. O'Connor comes in with three goals and an assist on the year. Rakell has four goals this year, tied for the most on the team while having two assists.
Meanwhile, Evgeni Malki has led the way this year. Malkin was second on the team in points last year. He has 27 goals and 40 assists. This year, he has three goals and 11 assists. Lars Eller has been solid from the third line, with four goals and two assists this year. The Penguins also get strong production from the blue line in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang. Karlsson had 11 goals and 45 assists last year. So far this year he has a goal and five assists. Letang had 10 goals and 41 assists last year, and he has already scored twice with an assist this year.
Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to be in goal for the Penguins in this one. He is 0-2-1 on the year with a 3.94 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage. Last time out, he gave up four goals on 34 shots, taking the loss, and having a .882 save percentage in the game. Still, that was the best save percentage he has had this year. Nedeljkovic has allowed three or more goals in every game this year, while not having a save percentage over .900 yet this year.
Final Wild-Penguins Prediction & Pick
The Wild come into this early season NHL game as favorites. One of the major reasons will be goaltending. Filip Gustavsson has been great this year, having just one bad game all year. The Wild are fifth in the NHL allowing just 2.50 goals per game this year. Further, they are fifth on the power play and score 3.63 goals per game. Meanwhile, the Penguins are 30th in the NHL allowing 4.20 goals per game, while scoring just three goals per game. Take the Wild in this one.
Final Wild-Penguins Prediction & Pick: Wild ML (-126)
