Gila River Arena is playing host a Western Conference tilt as the Arizona Coyotes square off against the visiting Minnesota Wild. Fox Sports Arizona will broadcast the matchup, and the puck drops at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 1.
Minnesota Wild at Arizona Coyotes Odds
Arizona (+135) is entering this one as the underdog to Minnesota (-155), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-135 money on the under, +115 on the over).
Minnesota is 36-27 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.0 units this season. Through 63 regular season contests, 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just three have pushed. As a road team in 2017-18, the Wild are 14-16 SU.
Minnesota has converted on 21.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for 10th-best in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked 15th out of 31 teams, and it has successfully killed off 80.9 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Wild have been called for penalties 3.9 times per game overall during the 2017-18 season, and 2.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 27.6 saves per game with a .919 save percentage, Devan Dubnyk (28-17-5) has been the best option in goal for Minnesota this year. If Minnesota chooses to rest him, however, they might roll with Alex Stalock (9-14-2), who has a .916 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average this year.
The visiting Wild have relied on Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund this year. Staal has 64 points on 33 goals and 31 assists, and has recorded two or more points 15 times. Granlund has 19 goals and 34 assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in 31 games).
On the other side of the rink, Arizona is 18-44 straight up (SU) and has lost 20.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. 33 of its contests have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just one has pushed. It’s 10-22 SU at home this season.
The Coyotes have converted on just 16.2 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the bottom 5 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.4 percent of all penalties.
Coyotes players have been penalized only 3.2 times per game in total this season, and 4.2 per game over their last ten games. The team has had to kill penalties 9.8 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Antti Raanta (26.7 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for the Coyotes. Raanta has 14 wins, 23 losses, and six OT losses to his credit and has recorded a .923 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Clayton Keller (17 goals, 27 assists).
Minnesota Wild at Arizona Coyotes Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Arizona is 1-5 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 3-2 in shootouts.
- The total has gone under in three of Arizona’s last five games.
- Minnesota has managed 29.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Arizona is averaging 34.0 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Six of Minnesota’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 5-1 in those games.
- The Coyotes this season have registered the fifth-most hits per game (24.4).
