A Western Conference tilt will be in the works when the Minnesota Wild take on the Anaheim Ducks for bragging rights! Join us for our NHL odds series where our Wild-Ducks prediction and pick will be revealed.
Sitting on the outside looking in with just under 15 games remaining on the scheduled slate, the Wild desperately need every win they can get down the stretch. With their combined 33-27-8 record up to this point, Minnesota sits five points behind the second and final Wild Card spot out west. Most recently, it has been the Wild that saw their three-game winning streak come crashing to a halt with a defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues. Can the Wild use a short memory to bounce back in a big way?
On the contrary, the Ducks are enduring a dreadful regular season and are simply playing for pride at this given time. Bafflingly enough, Anaheim has failed to win a game in more than two weeks and have lost a dreadful six games in a row. At 23-42-3 overall, will the Ducks finally break out of their rut or will they quack their way to another loss?
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Wild-Ducks Odds
Minnesota Wild: -1.5 (+115)
Moneyline: -215
Anaheim Ducks: +1.5 (-138)
Moneyline: +176
Over: 5.5 (-120)
Under: 5.5 (-102)
How to Watch Wild vs. Ducks
Time: 10:00 ET/7:00 PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Wild Will Cover The Spread/Win
If the season ended today, the Wild would be watching the postseason from the comfort of their living rooms, but there is no denying that Minnesota is heading in the right direction to not have this be a part of their future. Believe it or not, the Wild managed to extend their consecutive point streak to seven games in the 3-2 overtime loss to the Blues and could be finding their stride at the perfect time of the season. While there is still work to be done, don't overlook how well Minnesota has played of late.
In order for this team to capture yet another point and find a way to cover the spread, they will need a repeat performance in net from Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite the loss, it wasn't because of the savvy vet in between the pipes. At the ripe age of 39, it was Fleury who looked like he was in his prime against St. Louis as he stopped 35 shots. Ultimately, it will most likely be fellow netminder Filip Gustavsson who gets the start on Tuesday. Regardless, Minnesota will need a stellar outing from whoever is slated to start as goalie against the Ducks.
Not to mention, but a possible X-Factor for the Wild could come in the form of a penalty-killing unit that has been licking their wounds. On paper, Minnesota only halts 74.3% of opponent's power plays which is simply not going to cut it in a must-have game of epic proportions.
Why The Ducks Will Cover The Spread/Win
Even though the Ducks aren't playing for much at their current state of the regular season, this young and rebuilding squad can still benefit greatly with some much-needed confidence on the ice. Clearly, things have been more bad than good on the ice, but even a single win can do wonders for a team like Anaheim!
To begin, the Ducks are slated as considerable underdogs for this matchup, but one way they can overcome that could be in large part due to storming out of the gates with some fire. Indeed, gaining an early lead even within the confines of your home arena is a big deal, and is also something that the Ducks were able to accomplish last time out on the ice. Unfortunately, after striking first thanks to a Troy Terry goal, St. Louis proved to be too much for Anaheim. Somehow, the Ducks will need to find creative ways to hold onto the lead if they are able to get on the scoreboard first.
All in all, none of this will matter if the Ducks cannot play a competitive game which has been a major struggle as of late. Without a doubt, the inability to score the puck has been a major problem this year as the Ducks only score 2.50 goals per which is dead last in all of hockey. With only ten goals combined in their previous eight games, look for Anaheim to make it a point of emphasis to go on the power-play and try to increase their scoring chances on the extra-man attack.
Final Wild-Ducks Prediction & Pick
In this contest, one team is hot and the other is not! When the smoke finally settles in this Western Conference showdown, expect the Wild to be the last ones standing.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Wild-Ducks Prediction & Pick: Wild -1.5 (+115)
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