The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues meet Thursday in NHL action at Enterprise Center. Here’s a Blues vs Wild Prediction. This article will include a Blues vs Wild Pick.
Minnesota Wild Betting Preview
The Minnesota Wild made the playoffs last year with 97 points, but now look for their first series win since the 2014-15 season.
The Wild have their star in Kirill Kaprizov, and there’s young players like Zeev Buium and Marco Rossi who are capable of taking this roster to new heights. Filip Gustavsson is also coming off a fantastic season in net, and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury provides quality goalie depth. The issues for the Wild were on the power play and the penalty kill where they were at the bottom in both. Fix those issues and the Wild could make some noise this season, potentially earning a rare playoff series win.
St. Louis Blues Betting Preview
The St. Louis Blues made the playoffs last year with 96 points and now look for their first series win since the 2021-22 season.
The Blues have an underrated trio in Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, and Jordan Kyrou, who are all capable of 30 or more goals. Cam Fowler is coming off a strong season and will be the team’s top defender, while there’s a lot of hype around the youngster Jimmy Snuggerud. The problem is the Blues are in a hell of a division and any slippage could have them on the outside looking in. The Blues can’t afford a bad week or two if they’re going to get that playoff series victory this season.
Why the St. Louis Blues will win
- The Blues have won each of their last 15 home games.
- The Wild have lost eight of their last 10 road games.
- The Blues have covered the puck line in each of their last nine home games against Central Division opponents.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in seven of their last eight season openers.
- The Wild have lost the third period in each of their last nine night games against Central Division opponents.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The underdogs have won four of the Blues’ last five games at Enterprise Center.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in 10 of the Wild’s last 11 games.
- The Blues have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games as favorites.
- The Wild have won the third period in each of their last four games at Enterprise Center when leading after the second period.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Blues’ last six home games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Five of the last six games between two teams from the Central Division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Three of the Wild’s last four season openers have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in each of the Wild’s last seven games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Blues’ last nine games as favorites.
St. Louis Blues Player Prop Facts
- Jordan Kyrou has scored at least one goal in each of the Blues’ last five games as home favorites.
- Dylan Holloway has recorded at least one point in each of his last 12 appearances with the Blues as favorites against Western Conference opponents.
- Robert Thomas has recorded at least one assist in each of the Blues’ last eight night games at Enterprise Center.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Boldy has scored at least one goal in five of the Wild’s last six night games.
- Vladimir Tarasenko has recorded a point in each of his last seven appearances against Central Division opponents.
- Mats Zuccarello has recorded at least one assist in four of his last five appearances against the Blues after playing less than 20 minutes in the Wild’s last game.
Blues vs Wild Prediction
The Blues are probably the more complete team at this stage, and they’re going to get the benefit of the doubt at home. However, the Wild have a lot of promising things going for them and could be a sneaky playoff team this season if they can improve the special teams side of things. The Wild are a team I’ll be watching a lot of early on, and do like them in favorable prices. I’ll take a stab with the Wild on the road in their season opener.