Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Wild vs Blue Jackets NHL Odds
Looking for Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Wild taking on the Blue Jackets on Thursday March 2nd, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(41-14-6) Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (39-16-6)
Date: Thursday March 2nd, 2017
Time: 7:00PM EST
Venue: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Columbus -123
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Columbus -1.5
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
Live NHL Odds
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Minnesota, with wins in four of the last five games, will look to continue its great run of games against a tough, albeit slightly more average-looking Columbus Blue Jackets team.
Columbus, sitting 2nd in the Metropolitan Division, needs wins in games like this in order to create space in that division and ensure a playoff birth.
Minnesota Wild
With four wins in the last five games, the Minnesota Wild continue to show why the team is one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals this season. The Wild have been top notch on both offense and defense, and especially in goal.
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk continues to make his case for the Vezina Trophy, posting a 34-11-3 record with a 2.05 goals against average. He leads the league with a .932 save percentage for the season.
Because of the stellar goaltending along with the quality team defense, the Wild have given up the 4th least goals in the NHL this season.
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On offense, the Wild have the weapons to score and score a lot. Acquired Sunday from Arizona, Ryan White has already made his presence known. In two games since the trade, White has two goals and an assist for the Wild.
Mikael Granlund has been the team’s top goal-scorer this season, putting up 21 goals and 38 assists on the year. In his last five games, he has five goals and four assists.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus has started to find its stuff again, after a few week stretch that saw the team look extremely average and post about a .500 record. The Blue Jackets have won five of the last eight games and have pulled back into 2nd in the Metropolitan.
The defense and goaltending have been much better during that stretch, allowing just 14 total goals over those eight games and starting netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has looked like the All-Star that he is. He’s been a big reason why the team ranks 2nd in the NHL in goals against this season.
Offensively, right wing Josh Anderson has had a good stretch of performances recently. For the season, he has 14 goals and 10 assists but, over his last five games, has three goals and an assist.
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Cam Atkinson has also found his stuff again after a tough stretch of games for the most of February. He has 29 goals and 24 assists this season, with two goals and two assists over his last five games.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Minnesota is 4-1 SU in the last five games
- The Total has gone OVER in four of Columbus’ last five games
Free Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Hockey Prediction:
Minnesota is so strong right now, especially with its new acquisitions. Devan Dubnyk is still fantastic in goal and the Wild should get the W on the road in this one.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Minnesota ML
Minnesota is all in on winning now after the pickup of Martin Hanzal and Ryan White over the weekend. Against a Columbus team that has been pretty average over the past six weeks or so, I like the Minnesota money line in this one especially with the Wild being the underdogs.
NHL Free Score Prediction: Minnesota 4 – Columbus 2
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