Overview
The Detroit Red Wings visit the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota Saturday night where they take on the Wild. This has been a fairly even series over the past few seasons spiting the last 8 meetings with 4 wins a piece but the Wild have won 2 of the last 3 meetings played at home in Minnesota.
Head to Head Trends
Detroit is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 7 games when playing Detroit
Minnesota Wild (-160)
The Minnesota Wild are 4th in the Central Division with 95 points and even though they are not guaranteed a playoff spot just yet they are looking pretty safe to make the post season. The Wild have been probably the hottest team in the league over the past two and a half months winning 24 of their last 31 games. Over that period the Wild have outscored their opponents 93-52 or an average of 3.00-1.68 so they are playing some absolutely great hockey right now. The Wild have also been one of the better home teams in the league over the past few seasons and this year is no different with a 22-12-5 record and a +0.64 goal differential.
Minnesota Wild Trends
Minnesota is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Minnesota is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games at home
Detroit Red Wings (+140)
The Detroit Red Wings are tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Division with the Boston Bruins both teams with 93 points and just 3 points up on the Ottawa Senators for the final playoff spot. The Red Wings are really struggling right now with just 1 win in their last 6 games and are in real trouble of missing the playoffs. Defense has probably been the biggest problem for the Wings of late allowing close to 3 goals per game over their last 10 and it’s still trending in the wrong direction up to 3.2 goals per game over their last 5 so they really need to get things figured out before it’s too late.
Detroit Red Wings Trends
Detroit is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
Detroit is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Conclusion
I like the Minnesota Wild over the Red Wings in this one. The Wild have been the best team in the league over the second half of the season while the Red Wings are struggling big time over the past couple weeks and in danger of missing the playoffs.
Free Pick: Minnesota Wild -160
