The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota Wild meet Thursday in NHL action from the Grand Casino Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota Wild prediction.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recap
The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this game looking to rebound from a 3-2 shootout loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers last time out to sit at 7-2-2 this season. After this game, Pittsburgh will head on the road for a game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Penguins Alternate Wins & Losses In 4 Straight
Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with 16 points coming on 3 goals and a team-high 13 assists while Sidney Crosby has 15 points with a team-high 8 goals and 7 assists. Justin Brazeau has 12 points with 6 goals and 6 assists and Anthony Mantha has 10 points with 5 goals and 5 assists. Erik Karlsson has 9 assists while Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust each have 8 points with 3 goals and 5 assists apiece. Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon each have 5 points with 4 assists. Arturs Silovs has gone 3-1-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .919 save percentage in goal for the Penguins so far this season while Tristan Jarry is 4-1 with a 2.62 GAA and a .916 save percentage this year.
Why the Pittsburgh Penguins will win
- The Penguins have won each of their last four games as road underdogs against the Wild.
- The Wild have lost each of their last three games as favorites.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Wild’s last 13 games at Grand Casino Arena.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last eight games as favorites.
Pittsburgh Penguins Player Prop Facts
- Sidney Crosby has scored the last goal in each of the Penguins’ last three games as road underdogs.
- Sidney Crosby has scored at least one goal in each of the Penguins’ last five games as underdogs.
- Sidney Crosby has recorded at least one assist in eight of the Penguins’ last nine games as underdogs against Central Division opponents.
- Sidney Crosby has recorded at least one point in each of the Penguins’ last nine games as underdogs against Central Division opponents.
- Evgeni Malkin ranks T1st in the league for multi-point games (6) this season.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to rebound from their 4-3 OT loss at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets to slide to 3-5-3 this season. After this game, Minnesota will take on the Vancouver Canucks at home.
Wild Drop 4th In A Row
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 15 points with a team-high 6 goals and 9 assists while Matt Boldy has 12 points with 5 goals and 7 assists. Marco Rossi has 10 points with 8 assists while Marcus Johansson. has 8 points with 5 goals and 3 assists. Zeev Buium has 8 points with 2 goals and 6 assists while Joel Eriksson Ek has 7 points with 2 goals and 5 assists. Ryan Hartman has 5 points with 3 goals and Brock Faber and Vladimir Tarasenko each have 5 points with 4 assists. Filip Gustavsson’s gone 2-5-1 with a 3.42 GAA and an .889 save percentage while Jesper Wallstedt is 1-0-2 with a 3.46 GAA and an .863 save percentage in goal for Minnesota this season.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Penguins have lost four of their last five road games after coming off a shootout.
- The Wild have covered the puck line in four of their last five games after coming off overtime.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Marcus Johansson has scored at least one goal in four of the Wild’s last five games as home favorites.
- Marco Rossi has recorded at least one assist in each of the Wild’s last five home games.
- Joel Eriksson Ek has recorded at least one point in each of his last seven appearances with the Wild as home favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- Kirill Kaprizov ranks T2nd in the league for Power Play Points (8) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Seven of the Wild’s last eight home games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Each of the Penguins’ last five games after coming off overtime have gone OVER the total goals line.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction
I’m on the Penguins here. The Wild continue to get respected as they’re the Wild of past seasons that have been sound defensively and play complete hockey. However, we’ve yet to see that come to fruition enough to where this kind of price is justified. The Penguins are playing the better hockey right now and I think Pittsburgh delivers once again here. Give me Pittsburgh.