The Detroit Red Wings (31-16-4) and Minnesota Wild (28-14-9) meet in the NHL tonight. Puck drop is set for 9:30 p.m. EST at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minn. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
The Wild are favored by -1.5 on the puck line, with the over/under set at 6.5 (-100o / -120u). The Wild are a -142 favorite to win outright, while the Red Wings are +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Red Wings vs. Wild predictions and NHL picks.
Red Wings vs. Wild Odds, Pick
| Red Wings Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -210 | 6.5 -100o / -120u | +120 |
| Wild Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +170 | 6.5 -100o / -120u | -142 |
- Red Wings vs. Wild Spread: Wild -1.5 (+170 ), Red Wings +1.5 (-210)
- Red Wings vs. Wild Over/Under: 6.5 (-100o / -120u)
- Red Wings vs. Wild Moneyline: Red Wings +120, Wild -142
Red Wings vs. Wild Preview
Detroit Red Wings
Seven out of eight wins.
That's the run that the Red Wings have been on. And not just that, they came out with an intense win against the Maple Leafs last night, where they came out on top 2-1 in overtime.
It doesn't get talked about enough, but Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat are the major driving forces of this offense, and all three of them do it at an extremely high level.
Raymond and DeBrincat average over a point per game, with Larkin not far behind.
In January, with this winning stretch, Detroit's 5-on-5 play has been just fine — ranking in the middle of the league in offense, and 10th-overall in defense.
What concerns me is the goaltending. John Gibson has been one of the best netminders in the league, but since he played last night, it looks like Cam Talbot will get the nod. And I am a major doubter of Talbot.
He's played to a -4.2 GSAx over his past 10 games, while posting an .892 SV% this season.
Minnesota Wild
Despite the Wild making me look foolish on Tuesday, I'm still very bullish on this team.
How can you not look at this team and wonder about the possibilities? Especially with Quinn Hughes, putting him on a lineup with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy spells out problems for the rest of the league.
But every team has its dark day. Luckily, I don't think those dark times will last very long, because led by fantastic goaltending, this team has an upside that is hard to ignore.
Even though they went 3-3-1 in the past seven games, Minnesota is actually playing a solid 5-on-5 game, playing to a 51.32 xGF% and 2.72 xGA/60.
Goaltender Jesper Wallstedt took the league by storm in December, but he's fallen from grace. So, it's starting to make the Wild turn toward Filip Gustavsson, who has been a beauty in the past 10 games.
He's posted a .916 SV%, while also playing to a 7.1 GSAx.
Red Wings vs. Wild Prediction
I'm going to be riding with my guy Jonny Lazarus here.
Detroit is coming off an intense battle against the Leafs last night, and the last thing a team needs after a heated matchup is another one against a talented squad on the road.
But the NHL is a cold world — and it's not just because of the cold front that's approaching us.
Minnesota has been going through it as of late, and it's hard to imagine that a team that was once elite at home has lost three in a row in front of its home fans.
So, this is purely a momentum play here, but at least there's data to back it up. This home losing streak cannot continue, and I can't see it continuing either.
Let's get a Wild win, and for the sake of Detroit's back-to-back, I'm picking this in regulation.
Pick: Wild 60-Minute Line (+100)
