In their third head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche face off at the Pepsi Center. The action gets started at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 23, and fans at home can see this Central Division matchup live on Fox Sports North.
Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Minnesota (+105) is entering this one as the underdog to Colorado (-125) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Minnesota is 25-24 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 49 regular season contests, 24 of its games have gone under the total, while 20 have gone over and just five have pushed. As an away team in 2018-19, the Wild are 12-12 SU.
Minnesota has converted on 20.4 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 84.7 percent of its penalties.
Minnesota, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.8 times per game during the 2018-19 season, 4.0 per game over its last five outings total, and 4.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 8.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 25.8 saves per game with a .913 save percentage, Devan Dubnyk (20-20-3) has been the best option in goal for Minnesota this season. If it chooses to rest him, however, head coach Bruce Boudreau might roll with Alex Stalock (6-8), who has a .894 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average this year.
Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund will both lead the way for the visiting Wild. Parise (43 points) has tallied 20 goals and 23 assists, and has recorded two or more points 10 times. Granlund has 12 goals and 27 assists to his name (and has registered at least one point in 27 games).
Over on the other bench, Colorado is 22-27 straight up (SU) and has lost 11.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. 26 of its games have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 10-12 SU at home this year.
Colorado has converted on 24.9 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 77.2 percent of all penalties.
The Avalanche have been penalized 4.1 times per game this season, 4.4 per game over their last five match ups total, and 4.6 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties 14.2 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Semyon Varlamov (26.7 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for Colorado. Varlamov has 13 wins, 18 losses, and five overtime losses to his name and has maintained a pedestrian 2.82 goals against average and a poor .908 save percentage this year.
Mikko Rantanen (23 goals, 50 assists) will pace the offensive counter for the Avs.
Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche Free Picks
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of Minnesota’s last five games.
- Minnesota has managed 27.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Colorado has been attempting 36.4 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Five of Minnesota’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 1-4 in those games.
- Minnesota skaters recorded 16.9 hits per game last season, while the Avalanche accounted for 20.4 hits per contest.
