Can the Pittsburgh Penguins cool off the red-hot Minnesota Wild, who have won eight of their last 10 games? The Penguins are always dangerous, but the Wild have been the more lethal team. In any case, this is a matchup hockey fans can’t miss. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NHL odds series, which includes our Penguins-Wild prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.

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Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Penguins-Wild odds:

NHL odds: Penguins-Wild Odds

Penguins: +1.5 (-255) (-105 ML)

Wild: -1.5 (+205) (-115 ML)

Over: 6.5 (-102)

Under: 6.5 (-120)

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Why the Penguins Could Cover the Spread 

After scoring nearly a dozen goals in an 11-2 cakewalk of a win over the Detroit Red Wings last Sunday, the Penguins fell back down to Earth in a 3-2 home loss to the New York Rangers Tuesday. That loss makes it 1-3 for Pittsburgh in four games heading to Wednesday's showdown with Minnesota.  It's also worth noting that the Pens lost two of those games against the Rangers, whose immense goaltending gave Pittsburgh fits offensively.

Minnesota is pretty stout defensively, but it's only 14th in the league in 5-on-5 saves percentage (.924) while the Rangers are third (.931). That should give Sidney Crosby and company hope that they will wake up on the offensive side of the ice again. Speaking of Crosby, he and Evgeni Malkin have been having some sort of a throwback party of late, as they have combined for 12 goals and 11 assists over the last 11 Penguins games. The two recorded a point each in the Rangers game, with Crosby burying his 25th goal of the season, while Malkin had his 17th assist of the 2021-22 NHL campaign.

Both Crosby and Malkin were not around the last time these teams met back in November in Pittsburgh, but the Penguins still managed to keep in step offensively, albeit in a 5-4 home loss, thanks in large part to Kasperi Kapanen, who pulled off a hatty for the Penguins. With them now active, the Penguins' offense likely doesn't have to rely on a random explosion from a peripheral player to keep them in the game versus the Wild. The Penguins are also looking to continue reaping success off power-play opportunities. That has been bread and butter for Pittsburgh lately, having gone 8/19 on the man advantage in five games. 

Why the Wild Could Cover the Spread

You can forget about what was earlier said about Minnesota’s mediocre saves percentage because this team is now different defensively with Marc-Andre Fleury in the fold. After giving up a pair of goals in a 3-2 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in his debut for the Wild, Fleury settled down and turned away 32 of 33 shots in a 4-1 home victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

With that win, the Wild have managed to extend their undefeated run to seven games. Their defense has stepped it up this month, as they are, in fact, fifth in the NHL in March games in terms of 5-on-5 goals allowed with 22 in total across 15 games. It's a different story when they are defending against power-play attacks, though, so avoiding penalties will be one of the key challenges for the Wild, who are third in the NHL in penalty minutes per game.

Despite their so-so job in penalty killing, the Wild have been passing recent tests in part because they are winning the puck battle on 5-on-5s. Minnesota has outshot (even strength) all but one of its last 15 opponents, which plays right into the Penguins’ struggles in that area, as Pittsburgh has only come up with a 44.9 CF% and 47.3 FF% in its last four outings. Kirill Kaprizov will be the man to watch in the side of Minnesota, as the forward is in the middle of a red-hot stretch. He has scored nine goals in 10 games. He scored a goal in the win over Pittsburgh in the first meeting. 

Final Penguins-Wild Prediction & Pick

Consistency is currently a problem for the Penguins. They even recently lost to the Buffalo Sabres and their past three wins were against the Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Red Wings – all bonus round games. I say the Wild continue their streak at the expense of Pittsburgh.

Final Penguins-Wild Pick: Wild (-115 ML)