Rogers Arena is the site for a Western Conference clash as the Minnesota Wild pay a visit to British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Canucks. It’s the third and last time that the two clubs will go at it in the regular season. The opening face-off is at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, March 9, and it is being shown live on Sportsnet Pacific.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks Odds
Minnesota is 38-29 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.2 units this season. Through 67 regular season outings, 35 of its games have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just three have pushed. As the away team this season, the Wild are 14-18 SU.
Minnesota has converted on 21.9 percent of its power-play opportunities this season, a figure that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is ranked 18th out of 31 teams. The team’s successfully killed off 80.4 percent of all penalties.
The Wild, as a collective unit, have been penalized 3.9 times per game overall during the 2017-18 season. Also 2.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays just 7.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .918 save percentage and 27.4 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (30-18-5) has been the top option in goal for Minnesota this season. If head coach Bruce Boudreau decides to rest him, however, Minnesota could turn to Alex Stalock (9-16-2 record, .912 save percentage, 2.83 goals against average).
The visiting Wild will be led by Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund. Staal (67 points) has tallied 36 goals and 31 assists and has recorded two or more points in 16 different games. Granlund has 19 goals and 37 assists to his name (and has notched a point in 34 games).
On the other side of the rink, Vancouver is 25-42 straight up (SU). They also have lost 10.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 39 of its games have gone over the total. While 28 have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 12-22 SU as the home team this year.
The Canucks have converted on 21.6 percent of their power play chances this year. A mark that’s good enough for eighth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.1 percent of all penalties.
Canucks players have been called for penalties 3.8 times per game in total this season, 3.4 per game over their last five matchups total, and 3.6 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jacob Markstrom has stopped 26.1 shots per game as the top netminder in goal for the Canucks. Markstrom has 18 wins, 32 losses, and seven OT losses to his credit. He also has recorded a fairly-weak .910 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average this season.
The Nucks offense will be led by Brock Boeser (29 goals, 26 assists).
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks Free Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Eight of Minnesota’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 6-2 in those games.
The Canucks are 9-12 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-30 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes.
Minnesota is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vancouver is 0-3 in shootouts.
The over has hit in three of Vancouver’s last five games.
Vancouver is ranked 8th this season with 8.1 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as the team’s averaged 5.9 giveaways over its last 10 games and 6.8 giveaways over its last five.
Minnesota has averaged 8.6 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 6.1 giveaways per game (ranked first in the league).
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