The two best teams in the Central Division match up in a game that will go a long way in deciding who wins the division and gets to face a wild card team in the first round. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Wild-Avalanche pick, prediction, and how to watch.
The Minnesota wild sit one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche in the Central division race, but they have played one more game. Both teams are playing some of their best hockey of the year as well. The Wild have won two straight games and are 7-1-2 in their last ten. For as great as that is, the Avalanche have won three in a row and are 9-1-0 in their last ten games.
Here are the Wild-Avalanche NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Wild-Avalanche Odds
Minnesota Wild: +1.5 (-184)
Colorado Avalanche: -1.5 (+152)
Over: 5.5 (-130)
Under: 5.5 (+106)
How To Watch Wild vs. Avalanche
TV: TNT
Stream: NHLPP
Time: 10:00 PM ET/ 7:00 PM PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Wild Could Cover The Spread
The Minnesota Wild are playing a winning brand of hockey right now, scoring and defending well. In their last ten games, they have scored 40 goals in the last ten games, good for four per game. At the same time, they have let in 30 goals in the last ten, good for three per game. Keeping a team under 5 goals will be a major factor for the Wild. They have given up 5 goals in four of their last ten games. Two of those games have resulted in overtime losses, while one was a 5-2 loss to the Bruins. The other one they won by a score of 8-5. When they have given up less than five goals, they have won all six of their recent games.
Filip Gustavsson is expected to be the starter tonight, and he has been solid in the last two games. He has only given up two goals while facing 71 shots on goal, and over a .957 save percentage in both of them. In March, his goals-against average is 1.77, and he has a save percentage of .941. He did have two bad games in there, giving up five to Arizona on 23 shots, and five to Boston on 37 shots in the middle of March. This solid play goes back to February as well, where he had 1.62 goals-against average. If he plays like he has shown he can, the Wild will keep the Avalanche at bay and get the win.
Why The Avalanche Could Cover The Spread
Colorado has been playing amazing on defense in the last ten games. They have held their opponents down in shots, with their last three games all at thirty shots or less. They have held the opposition under twenty shots four times in their last ten games, all of them resulting in wins. They have only allowed over forty shots once, and that resulted in a loss to the Penguins. They have been outshot three times in the past ten games, winning two of them and losing one.
They are also scoring well. They have scored 42 goals in their last ten games, including five games in which they have scored five or more goals. MacKinnon has been on fire as of late. He has points in nine of his last ten games, including six games in which he has multiple points. He is also helping on the defensive side of the ice. He is plus five in the last ten games, and has a negative plus/minus in only two of his recent games.
Mikko Rantanen is also going strong, with points in eight of his last ten games, with five multi-point games. In March, Rantanen has eight goals and nine assists, while having a plus-two rating overall. He is setting up guys to score, like he has done all year, and also scoring himself. His 48 goals on the season lead the team and are good for third in the NHL. Stopping that duo of MacKinnon and Rantanen is going to be difficult for the Wild, and if they cannot stop at least one of them, the Avalanche will win.
Final Wild-Avalanche Prediction & Pick
These are two of the hottest teams in the NHL. Both teams are playing amazingly and both are on hot streaks. They are also both finding ways to win. When they are not scoring, they are playing lockdown defense. Then, in other games, they are scoring in bunches. Colorado is expected to start Alexandar Georgiev tonight, and for good, as Gustavson has been, Georgiev has been just as good. He has fallen below the .900 save percentage just twice this month. One was on March 4th, and on the other, the team still won 8-4. Tonight will come down to which goaltender stays hot, and the better goalie is Georgiev.
Final Wild-Avalanche Prediction & Pick: Avalanche -1.5 (+152)
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