Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Wild vs. Penguins NHL Odds
Looking for Minnesota Wild Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Wild taking on the Penguins on Saturday, November 6th at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Wild Penguins matchup.
(6-3) Minnesota Wild vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (4-3-2)
Date: Saturday, November 6th
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Wild -105 Penguins -115 (Bet Now!)
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Wild +1.5 -290 Penguins -1.5 +235
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
The Wild have not yet covered the spread (0-9) but are 6-3 straight up. They’re coming off an OT win against the Senators in a game they were up multiple goals before letting Ottawa come back. They lost the previous two games on the road.
The Penguins just had a nice break before beating the Flyers in OT last game. They are the more rested team in this matchup, but they still will likely be without some key players including Crosby. It hasn’t prevented them from winning some games this season, however.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota was a team I loved to bet on until they lost to both the Kraken and Avalanche and looked BAD in the process. When they beat the Senators, they looked much better and Ottawa was fortunate to keep the game close.
Seattle may have just been in a good spot at home, and Colorado always has the ability to make teams look bad, so I may have been reading into it too much. Minnesota is the top team in the league in expected goals at 5 on 5, and 5th in high danger scoring chances.
Those stats need an asterisk next to them, because the Wild have had the 4th easiest schedule, just behind the Jets, Blues, and Sabres. From what I’ve seen so far, Minnesota is an above average team that gets a ton of quality chances but still lacks the finishing touch to make good on those chances.
I don’t consider the Penguins an elite team, so it’s very possible Minnesota has a solid game against Pittsburgh and can get those quality chances in bunches. The goaltending for the Penguins isn’t exactly intimidating, so perhaps some more of those chances can be converted to goals.
Lastly, Minnesota has scored 9% less goals than expected so far this season. That implies they are due for regression and will end up scoring more goals than expected to even it out. Of course, this is just a likelihood and by no means guaranteed.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh has been impressive doing what they can to win games without their top players. I hope they can keep the momentum when they finally get healthy. They should be a tough team to play against this year if so.
Not only did they play well without a full cast, they did that with the 2nd hardest schedule strength behind the Coyotes. If they had some elite goaltending instead of the Jarry/DeSmith duo, they could have gotten a couple more wins.
Pittsburgh is 4th in expected goals at 5 on 5 and 6th in high danger scoring chances. This is a rare matchup for them where they play a team with better stats than them, even though they have had a rough schedule. Only the Wild, Bruins, and Capitals are above them in expected goals.
What concerns me is that Pittsburgh barely beat the Flyers last game at home. The Flyers rank 24th and 30th in expected goals and high danger scoring chances at 5 on 5, respectively. Sometimes extra days off when you’re on a roll do more harm than good.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Wild are 3-2 on the road this season
- Penguins are 3-3-1 at home this season
- Wild are 4-0 in their last 4 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
- Penguins are 1-5 in the last 6 vs. Western Conference.
- Underdog is 5-1 in the last 6 PIT games vs Western Conference.
- Under is 5-0 in the last 5 MIN road games.
Free Minnesota Wild Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Prediction
I see this as a close game since the Wild only play close games but given that they’re so much better than the Flyers at generating quality chances and controlling the play, it should be too much for Pittsburgh to handle. Take the Wild here.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Minnesota Wild -105
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