Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild Prediction: Goals Gone Wild?
Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild Prediction: Goals Gone Wild?
Two of the top ten teams in the NHL face off tonight when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Minnesota Wild. The Canes have a record of 32-10-3 for 67 points which is 1st in the Metro. Carolina enters this contest on the heels of 6-0 blowout win at Boston over the Bruins Thursday night, which halted a rare 2 game losing streak.
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Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild Prediction
The Hurricanes are led offensively by Sebastian Aho, with 21 goals and 48 points. Aho also has added 9 power play goals which also leads the team. The Minnesota Wild are coming off a 2-0 shutout loss at Winnipeg to the Jets on Tuesday night. On the season, the Wild are 28-11-3 with 59 points, good for 3rd in the very competitive Central Division. Minnesota is led by young star Kirill Kaprizov. There has been no "sophomore slump" for Kirill the Trill as he leads the Wild with 19 goals, 34 assists and 53 points.
On the road this season, Carolina is averaging a fourth-best 3.42 goals per game. They are also putting plenty of pucks on net as their 33.5 average is the 5th best road mark in the league. Their road power is nothing to write home about, as it is ranked 13th at 21.2%.
Five on Five, however, the Canes have scored 62 goals on the road, which is 2nd most in the NHL. The Canes are also 4th in high danger scoring chances at 234. Defensively the Canes are a stingy team for sure as their 2.46 goals against per game on the road is 2nd best. The Wild pose a tough task for the Canes defense, let's take a look. At home this season, Minnesota is 13-3-2 to a total set at six. Xcel Energy Center sees the Wild average 4.50 goals per game which is second-most in the NHL, only behind the Panthers. Minnesota puts an average of 36.2 shots on net at home, which is 5th best in the league. Surprisingly, the Wild's power play has struggled at home as their 12.7 conversion rate is the 2nd worst mark in the NHL. They make up for in five on five, where their 60 goals scored is 5th best in the league. Cam Talbot is confirmed to start in net for Minnesota tonight. Cam has struggled at home this season where he has a 3.12 GAA and a .899 save percentage. Both these teams love to push the pace offensively and I think we are in for a very entertaining game tonight with plenty of goal scoring.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild Line Movement
Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild Pick
- Over 6 goals -120 (Bet $120 to win $100)
Article Author
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Tone has been handicapping the four major sports for over twenty years. An NHL enthusiast, Tone’s expertise lies on the ice. He’s excelled and profited finding the right angles on NHL games, particularly with player props, game props, and game totals. A contributor to several gaming sites, you can follow him on Twitter @TonesTakes.