NHL Odds, Pick, Prediction: Canucks vs. Wild (March 24)
Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images. Pictured: Tyson Jost
- The Wild are favored against the Canucks on Thursday night in Minnesota.
- The Wild's offense has been hot lately, and scoring should be aplenty.
- Continue reading for a full breakdown of this matchup, including a betting prediction.
Canucks vs. Wild Odds
| Canucks Odds | +180 |
| Wild Odds | -225 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-105/-115) |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
The Pacific Division's fifth-place Vancouver Canucks travel to Minnesota to take on the Central Division's third-place Wild. This is the second meeting between these two teams this season; the Wild won the first matchup 3-2 back in late October.
Will we see another low-scoring affair, or will the offense pick up between these two offense-heavy teams?
Canucks' Demko Different on the Road
The Vancouver Canucks enter this contest on the second half of a road back-to-back following Wednesday's matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. Since Jaroslav Halak got the start against Colorado, we can expect to see Thatcher Demko between the pipes against Minnesota.
Demko's numbers are much different away from home this season as his save percentage drops down to 0.906 on the road. We have seen more goals with the poorer goaltending on the road as the total goals scored have reached at least six in nine of Demko's last 12 road starts.
High-scoring games are nothing new to the Canucks as they have seen six or more total goals scored in 15 of their last 19 contests. Vancouver is known to give up high-danger chances this season, ranking just 20th in the league in average expected goal value of opposing five-on-five shot attempts.
Wild's Offense Powerful, Goaltending Inconsistent
The Minnesota Wild continues their nine-game homestand in this matchup against Vancouver. Much like the Canucks, the Wild have seen plenty of high-scoring games recently as there have been six or more total goals scored in 14 of their last 18 games.
The main factor of these high-scoring games has been the dynamite offense of Minnesota, led by superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov. Over their last 10 contests, the Wild are averaging 3.7 goals scored per game.
While their offense has been on fire, Minnesota's goaltending has been incredibly inconsistent. Cam Talbot's up-and-down performance this season was the primary factor of Minnesota's move to acquire Marc-Andre Fleury from Chicago at the trade deadline.
However, Fleury is not yet ready to start for the team and therefore Talbot will be getting the start between the pipes against Vancouver. Talbot has allowed four or more goals in six of his last 10 starts.
Talbot's inconsistency has also factored into these high-scoring games as there have been six or more total goals scored in six of his last nine home starts.
Canucks vs. Wild Pick
Playing the over in Minnesota home games this season has been a great money maker as the over has hit in 20 of their 28 home contests. This trend, along with all of the analysis, makes the over a good bet to make in this game.
Both teams have good offenses and inconsistent goaltenders, so we should expect to see at least six goals scored in this contest.
Pick: Canucks/Wild o6 (-105) | Play up to (-125)
How would you rate this article?
Follow Us On Social
