Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Wild vs. Canucks NHL Odds
Looking for Minnesota Wild Vs. Vancouver Canucks free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Wild taking on the Canucks on Thursday March 2nd at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. 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 Canucks matchup.
NHL Hockey Handicapping – Wild vs. Vancouver
(34-21-6) Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks (24-31-5)
Date: Thursday March 2nd – Wild vs. Canucks
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver
Hockey NHL Moneyline Odds: Wild -160 Canucks +140 (Bet Now!)
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Wild -1.5 +140 Canucks +1.5 -200
Today’s NHL Betting Total: O/U 6
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The Minnesota wild will travel to the west coast to face the Canucks for the 3rd time this. season. Minnesota has won both of the games this season. Minnesota has won the last 5 meetings in this match up over the last 2 weeks.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota will come into Thursday on a mini two game winning streak after beating the Islanders 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday. The wild have won 6 of the last 7 with the only loss coming against the high flying Maple Leafs which went to overtime.
The Wild have been on an absolute heater recently going 7-1-2 in their last 10, and are currently sitting in a playoff spot, but the west is so clumped together that every game is so important if your fighting for a playoff spot.
Offense
The Wild are not all that impressive, only scoring 2.79 goals per game which is 26th in the league, they also score the least amount of goals for any team currently in a playoff spot. The Wild’s shot totals are a little bit better but still in the bottom half of the league at 31 shots per game.
One positive for the Wild is their special teams, the power play clicks at 7th best in the league at a solid 23.5 percent. Minnesota is also bottom of the league in shooting percentage and face off percentage.
Defense
Minnesotas defense is where this team succeeds, they only give up 2.6 goals per game which is 7th best in the NHL, a big reason for that is they keep the shot totals down giving up 30 per game which is 9th best. As mentioned above the Wild have very good special teams and the penalty kill is good for 82.3% which is 8th best. The Wild should be very greatful for that good penalty kill as they do take the 29th most penalties per game.
Going against one of the NHL best power plays they will need to be able to stay out of the box, and when they do take penalties hope the penalty kill is on its game.
Goaltending
Minnesota tends to use both goalies pretty evenly, but all sites I can see seem to think Marc-Andre Fleury will get the nod in net vs Vancouver on Thursday. Fleury has had a bit of a tough season he came into the year thinking he would be the number one guy, but has slipped into sharing the net with Filip Gustavsson. Fleury has won his last starts but they were against an awful offence in the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver will be coming into Thursday off of a win, after beating the Dallas Stars 5-2 in overtime. The Canucks had the lead after 20 minutes and 40 minutes but gave up a early 3rd period goal to let the game going to overtime where Andrei Kuzmenko won it 48 seconds in.
Offense
If you just looked at the Canucks numbers offensively you could probably make the argument that this team should have a very strong record and should be getting ready for the playoffs, they score 3.35 goals per game which 10th best, they have a great power play which is also ranked 10th best in the league.
You could make the argument that this Canucks team is so exciting to watch, as they score a ton of goals but they also give up a ton, but bottomline scoring and offence has not been an issue for Vancouver this season.
Defense
Defensively is where you can see the struggles for Vancouver, they are giving up the leagues 2nd most goals against at almost 4 per game. Vancouver also has the leagues worst penalty kill at only 66%. Which is never going to fly when you take as many penalties as the Canucks do.
However you can make the argument that the numbers have improved under Rick Tochett and now that they have their number one goalie back maybe they will improve more.
Goaltending
Thatcher Demko made his return to action on Tuesday night and looked very good for being off as long as he has been. Demko made 34 saves on 38 shots and got his team a win. Theres no point in putting Demko’s numbers in this article as he just hasn’t been healthy this season.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks Injury Report
- Gustav Nyquist (MIN) – IR – Upper Body
- Jonas Brodin (MIN) – IR – Lower Body
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson (VAN) – IR – Ankle
- J.T. Miller (VAN) – OUT – Lower Body
- Tanner Pearson (VAN) – IR – Hand
- Curtis Lazar (VAN) – Out – Lower Body
- Ethan Bear (VAN) – IR – Upper Body
- Travis Dermott (VAN) IR – Undisclosed
- Tucker Poolman (VAN) IR – Undisclosed
- Ilya Mikheyev (VAN) IR – Knee
Updated Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks NHL Odds
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Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends
- Under is 4-0 in Wild last 4 games following a win
- Under is 5-0 in Wild last 5 vs. a team with a losing record.
- Wild are 6-0 in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Over is 6-0-1 in Canucks last 7 games playing on 2 days rest.
- Canucks are 0-8 in their last 8 games following a win.
- Canucks are 0-5 in their last 5 after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game
- Wild are 5-0 in the last 5 meetings
- Wild are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Vancouver.
Free Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks NHL Prediction
Everything I have written has been getting ready to list Minnesota moneyline here as the pick but I think this is a game where the Canucks have a good chance at getting a win. They will have the goaltending advantage, and the Canucks always win games they shouldn’t late in the season to ruin their draft spot.
4* Free Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks NHL Betting Pick: Vancouver Canucks +140
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