The Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks meet Sunday in NHL action from the United Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks prediction.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this one looking to build on back-to-back wins after a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks last time out. Prior to that win, the Wild defeated the Sharks. After this game, Minnesota will square off against Montreal at home.
Wild Looking For Third Straight Win
Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with 27 points including a team-high 9 goals and 18 assists while Matt Boldy added 15 points including 8 goals and 7 assists. Mats Zuccarello and Marco Rossi each have 13 points with Zuccarello logging 6 goals and 7 assists while Rossi has 4 goals and 9 assists. Jake Middleton and Brock Faber each have 9 points with Middleton logging 3 goals and 6 assists and Faber adding 7 assists. Joel Eriksson Ek also has 8 points with 5 goals and 3 assists. Filip Gustavsson has gone 7-2-1 with a 2.30 GAA and a .920 save percentage in goal for Minnesota while Marc-Andre Fleury is 3-0-1 with a 2.70 GAA and a .904 save percentage on the year.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Wild have won each of their last 12 games against the Blackhawks.
- The Blackhawks have lost eight of their last nine games against Central Division opponents.
- The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last six road games against Western Conference opponents.
- The Blackhawks have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six games as home underdogs.
Chicago Blackhawks Recap
The Chicago Blackhawks come into this game looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses after a 3-1 loss to Dallas last time out. After this game, the Blackhawks will head to Seattle to take on the Kraken.
Blackhawks Trying To Rebound
Connor Bedard has a team-high 13 points with 3 goals and a team-high 10 assists while Ryan Donato has 10 points with a team-high 7 goals. Seth Jones has 9 points with 7 assists while Teuvo Teravainen has 8 points with 4 goals and 4 assists. Connor Murphy and Alex Vlasic each have 7 assists while Nick Foligno and Tyler Bertuzzi each have 6 points with 5 goals. Petr Mrazek has gone 4-7 with a 3.02 GAA and an .898 save percentage in goal for the Blackhawks while Arvid Soderblom is 1-2-1 with a 2.27 GAA and a .933 save percentage as well on the year.
Why the Chicago Blackhawks will win
- The underdogs have won five of the Blackhawks’ last six games.
- The Wild have lost four of their last five night games against Central Division opponents.
- The Blackhawks have covered the puck line in each of their last five games following a road loss.
Wild vs. Blackhawks Prediction
I’m on the Wild here. Chicago is starting to show signs of looking like the Chicago of the last couple of years, and that’s not a good thing. The Jets have been the talk of the NHL so far this season, but Minnesota’s been quietly one of the better teams in the league in their own right and I think Minnesota gets it done here.