Can the Minnesota Wild Pick Up Their First Win Over the Colorado Avalanche This Season?

The Colorado Avalanche will head to Xcel Energy to take on the Minnesota Wild in a Central Divisional matchup. This will be the third of four games against one another as Colorado picked up a 4-3 shootout home win back on January 17. The Avalanche are leading the entire National Hockey League (45-13-5) this season, while the Wild are third in the Central Division (37-20-4, 78 points) so far this season. 

These are two of the better teams in the entire sport, so this should be a great game between a lot of top talent. Let’s take a deeper dive into Colorado and Minnesota to determine which side of this game we should be on. 

Can the Starting Line of the Colorado Avalanche Dominate In This Game?

The offense of Colorado is doing extremely well as they are averaging 3.83 goals on 34.9 shot attempts. Right winger Mikko Rantanen has been doing extremely well as he is tied for 11th in the sport in points, tied for 12 in hockey in goals, and tied for 17th in assists as he has recorded 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) with eight points scored in his last four games. Defensively, the Avalanche are giving up 2.76 goals on 31.4 shots thus far. Goalie Darcy Kuemper has been doing fantastic this year as he is 30-8-2 with 2.40 goals allowed per game and a .923 save percentage. 

Minnesota has depended on the production of left-winger Kirill Kaprizov as he is tied for eighth in points, 11th in the NHL in goals, and tied for 17th in hockey in assists as he has posted 76 points (32 goals, 44 assists) so far with three points added in as many games. As a team, they are scoring 3.66 goals on 32.7 shots. The newest addition to the team has been goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will become the starter as he is 19-21-5 with a .908 save percentage and 2.95 goals allowed per game. On the defensive side of things, the Wild are allowing 3.15 goals on 31.8 shot attempts right now. 

Colorado Avalanche at Minnesota Wild Betting Prediction

The top-tier talent of Rantanen and Kaprizov has been doing very similar, and the injuries on the defensive side of Colorado is going to be a difference. Looking at the defensive side of the ice recently, the Avalanche are allowing 1.3 goals in their previous four games while the Wild are giving up 2.3 goals in their last four games. Neither team has been dominant against the spread as the Avalanche are 31-32 while the Wild are 29-32. All in all, go with the Minnesota Wild to cover a puck line at home here.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.