Canadian Tire Centre will be hosting an East-West clash as the Minnesota Wild come into town to face the Ottawa Senators. Fox Sports North will broadcast the game, and the opening face-off takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 19.
Minnesota Wild vs. Ottawa Senators Odds
The moneyline for either team is currently set at an identical -110, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
Minnesota is 17-16 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 16 of its outings have gone over the total, while 15 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Wild are 7-10 SU as the away team in 2017-18.
Minnesota has converted on 20.2 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 84.4 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 4.3 times per game during the 2017-18 season, and 6.0 per game over its last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties 15.2 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Boasting a .916 save percentage and 27.8 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (13-10-2) has been the top option in goal for Minnesota this season. If Minnesota decides to rest him, however, the team could turn to Alex Stalock (5-7-1), who has a .917 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average this year.
Eric Staal and Jason Zucker will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Wild. Staal has 28 points on 12 goals and 16 assists, and has recorded multiple points seven times. Zucker has 14 goals and 11 assists to his name (and has logged a point in 18 games).
On the other side of the ice, Ottawa is 11-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 31 regular season matches, 16 of its games have gone under the total, while 15 have gone over and none have pushed. This season, the team is 6-10 SU at home.
Ottawa has converted on just 14.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the bottom overall among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is also ranked 29th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.0 percent of all penalties.
Ottawa players have been called for penalties only 3.5 times per game in total this season, and 2.4 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.
Craig Anderson (24.8 saves per game) has been the primary selection in goal for Ottawa. Anderson has 10 wins, 14 losses, and three OT losses to his name and has maintained a poor .901 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average this season.
Mark Stone (14 goals, 14 assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Senators.
Minnesota Wild at Ottawa Senators Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in four of Ottawa’s last five outings.
Minnesota has managed 24.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Ottawa is averaging 30.8 shots per game over its last five home outings.
The Senators are 6-14 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-13 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Minnesota is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Ottawa is 1-4 in shootouts.
Ottawa is ranked 19th overall this season with 6.9 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower lately, however, as the team has averaged 5.3 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.6 takeaways over its last five.
Minnesota has averaged 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.3 takeaways per game (ranked 23rd overall).
