NHL Hockey Free Pick: Minnesota Wild vs Detroit Red Wings
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Team records:
Minnesota: 31-28-6
Detroit: 31-23-12
Tonight, 7:35 p.m. ET
Sportsbook odds: Wild +180, Red Wings -220
The Minnesota Wild travel to Hockeytown USA on Thursday night in a game between two chasers for the final playoff position in the Western Conference. Both teams have been underwhelming since the Olympic break and need to put a winning streak together in order to make a serious move down the stretch of the NHL season.
The Minnesota Wild have been rather disappointing this year. They are a team that has never had the big name talent of other clubs but they are competitive every time that they take to the ice. The Wild are a team that depends on a total team effort for success and if any one of their players takes a night off, trouble usually follows. Exhibit A – Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers in which the Wild could only muster 11 shots on goal in a shootout loss.
Early season acquisition Guillaume Latendresse leads Minnesota in goasl with 23 and outside of that, the Wild do not have another player with 20 goals. Mikko Koivu continues to be one of the best kept secrets in the NHL while Martin Havlat has not produced the way that the Wild envisioned when they signed him to a sizeable contract in the off season. Goaltender Niklas Backstom has not backed up his strong play from last year and only has a .904 save percentage with a measly 2 shutouts.
The Wild are a mess and just don’t have the makeup of a successful team. A 10-19-3 road record does not instil a lot of confidence in Minnesota supporters.
The Detroit Red Wings are a team that absolutely has to get it going and SOON. Tuesday’s home loss to the Flames left them on the outside of the playoff picture looking in – again! The Wings are 3-2 since the Olympic break and while they can look like contenders on one night, they can also look like pretenders on others.
Detroit’s early season struggles could be blamed on injuries. However, the Wings are as healthy as they have been all year and are still up and down. Enough of the excuses already! Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom had better get it going or the Wings players will be doing something that they haven’t done in many years – golfing in June. 
It is tempting to call an upset in this game, but one look at the Minnesota injury report and it is clear that the Wild will not be bringing their “A Game” to Joe Louis Arena. Brent Burns, Shane Hnidy and Pierre-Marc Bouchard are all in danger of missing Thursday’s game. With revenge on their minds, Detroit not only should win, but they have to win.
NHL Betting Trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 8 games
Minnesota is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing Detroit
Minnesota is 5-16-2 SU in its last 23 games ,when playing Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit’s last 5 games when playing Minnesota
Detroit is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games when playing Minnesota
Detroit is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit’s last 5 games
Pick: Detroit Red Wings
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