The Minnesota Wild and the Ottawa Senators meet Saturday in NHL action from the Canadian Tire Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Senators vs Wild Prediction.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to build on their 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens last time out to improve to 31-17-4 on the year. After this game, Minnesota will head on the road for a game against the Boston Bruins.
Wild Win Third In A Row
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 52 points including a team-high 23 goals and 29 assists while Matt Boldy has 45 points including 18 goals and 27 assists. Marco Rossi has 44 points with 17 goals and 27 assists while Mats Zuccarello has 35 points with 12 goals and 23 assists. Brock Faber also has 21 points with 15 assists of his own this season. Filip Gustavsson has gone 19-10-3 with a 2.61 GAA and a .913 save percentage in goal for Minnesota while Marc-Andre Fleury is 10-5-1 with a 2.76 GAA and a .904 save percentage on the year. Jesper Wallstedt is 0-2 with a 4.09 GAA and an .843 save percentage this season.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Wild have won each of their last five games as road underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Senators have lost two of their last three games as favorites against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Senators have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last six home games after coming off overtime.
- The road team has covered the puck line in each of the Wild’s last six games.
Ottawa Senators Recap
The Ottawa Senators come into this game looking to build on their 5-4 OT win over the Washington Capitals in their last matchup to climb to 27-20-4 on the year. After this game, Ottawa will begin a road trip with a date with the Nashville Predators.
Senators Win Third Straight As Well
Tim Stutzle leads the Senators with 48 points including 16 goals and 32 assists while Brady Tkachuk has 39 points with a team-high 19 goals and 20 assists. Drake Batherson has 40 points with 14 goals and 26 assists, Claude Giroux has 10 goals and 23 assists while Josh Norris has 27 points with 17 goals and 10 assists. Adam Gaudette also has 20 points with 15 goals this season. Linus Ullmark is 12-7-2 with a 2.38 GAA and a .915 save percentage in goal for Ottawa so far this year while Mads Sogaard is 1-1 with a 5.24 GAA and a .800 save percentage and Anton Forsberg is 6-9-1 with a 2.81 GAA and an .894 save percentage as well this season. Leevi Merilainen has also gone 7-3-1 with a 2.19 GAA and a .921 save percentage this season.
Why the Ottawa Senators will win
- The Wild have lost each of their last six night games against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Senators have won each of their last six games following a home win.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last six night games against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Senators have covered the puck line in each of their last five home games against Central Division opponents.
Total Goals Facts
- Ten of the Senators’ last 11 night games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Wild’s last five games as road underdogs following a road win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
Senators vs Wild Prediction
I’m on the Wild here. I just think this is where the value is, catching plus money with the Wild who have been one of the best road teams in the NHL this season, with 20 wins in 28 road contests so far. Sure, Ottawa’s played well at home and are on a nice winning streak of their own, but the Wild don’t really have a drop-off in goaltending from #1 to #2 in my opinion and I still have my reservations about the tandem in Ottawa. I think that the Senators will have some great value spots the rest of the way, but I’m siding with Minnesota in this one.