New York Rangers at Minnesota Wild Free Preview 3/16/19

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A game between two teams currently on losing streaks, the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild collide at the Xcel Energy Center. Fox Sports North will air this East-West matchup, and the action gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 16.

New York Rangers at Minnesota Wild Odds

New York (+180) is currently the underdog to Minnesota (-215), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-120 for the under, +100 for the over).

The Wild are 33-38 straight up (SU) and have punished moneyline bettors to the tune of -14.7 units so far. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 45-37 record that the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Of the team’s 71 regular season contests, 36 have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just seven have pushed. This season, the team’s 14-21 SU at home.

Minnesota’s converted on 20.1 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.3 percent of all penalties.

Minnesota, as a collective unit, has been whistled for penalties 3.6 times per game overall this season, and 2.2 per game over its last five outings at home. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 5.1 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.

Boasting a .911 save percentage and 25.4 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (28 wins, 31 losses, and six OT losses) has been the top option in goal for the Wild this season. If head coach Bruce Boudreau decides to give him a breather, however, the Wild might turn to Alex Stalock (6-12-12 record, .895 save percentage, 3.05 goals against average).

Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund will both lead the way for the Wild. Parise (55 points) has tallied 24 goals and 31 assists and has recorded two or more points on 11 different occasions this year. Granlund has 15 goals and 34 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 35 contests.

On the other hand, New York is 28-43 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through 71 regular season matches, 34 of its games have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under the total and just three have pushed. New York’s 11-24 SU as a road team this season.

New York has converted on 19.2 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully defended 78.5 percent of all opponent power plays.

New York’s skaters have been whistled for penalties 4.1 times per game this season, and 6.0 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays an unhealthy 16.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.

Henrik Lundqvist (2.99 goals against average and .909 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Lundqvist is averaging 29.4 saves per game and owns an 18-29-10 record.

Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Rangers will be Mika Zibanejad, who has 27 goals and 39 assists this season.

New York Rangers vs. Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions

Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Over

Betting Notes

  • The under has hit in four of New York’s last five outings.
  • The Wild are 13-17 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 21-25 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
  • Two of Minnesota’s past 10 contests have been decided by a shootout. The team’s 0-2 in those games and 1-4 overall in shootouts this year.
  • Minnesota is ranked 21st in the NHL with 7.1 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower lately, however, as the team has forced 6.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 4.8 takeaways over its last five.
  • New York has averaged 2.8 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 1.3 goals per contest over its last three games (0-3 SU over that span).
  • New York has managed 6.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.3 takeaways per game (ranked eighth overall).