Minnesota Wild Travels to Calgary to Face the Flames Saturday

The Minnesota Wild will travel to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night to take on the Calgary Flames in a Western Conference matchup here. Minnesota Wild are second in the Central Division (31-13-3, 65 points) while the Flames are leading the Pacific Division (30-13-6, 66 points) up to this point.  

This will be the first of two games against one another in a row in a home-and-home series as they also will play on Tuesday, March 1. Wild and Flames game will be the first of three games against one another. Let’s see how the likes of left-wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Johnny Gaudreau should play in this matchup.

Into the Minnesota Wild

The Wild offense has been playing incredibly well this season as he is averaging 3.81 goals on 32.3 shot attempts so far. Left-winger Kirill Kaprizov has been an incredible player as he is tied for sixth in all of hockey in points and tied for eighth in the NHL in assists with 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists) and has been on fire as he recorded eight points in his previous four games. They have not been a great team at scoring on the power play as they are 3rd in the NHL with 21.2 percent of them ending with a goal. 

Goalie Cam Talbot has been struggling a bit despite the record for Minnesota as he is 19-10-1 with 2.91 goals allowed and a .911 save percentage so far. The defense has allowed 2.98 goals on 32.6 shot attempts against them. Flames need to step up as the Wild are just below league average with 79.1 percent of penalties killed. 

Calgary Flames On Fire 

Left winger Johnny Gaudreau has been doing extremely well as he leads the league with a +41 on the ice and is tied for fourth in points and third in assists as he has 64 points (20 goals, 44 assists) this season. He has scored eight points in his previous five games so it will really be hard to stop him. As a whole, Calgary has scored 3.42 goals on 36.2 shots per game thus far.

Defense provided by goalie Jacob Markstrom has been nothing short of phenomenal as he is 23-10-5 with 2.09 goals given up per game with a .928 save percentage so far. He also leads the league with eight shootouts this season. Calgary is allowing 2.35 goals on 29 shot attempts this year. Their best number defensively is the fact they have killed 85.6 percent of all penalties against them, which is third in the NHL.

How to Bet on Wild at Flames

Two of the greater teams in hockey and should be a great game overall. Offenses recently have been doing great as the Wild are scoring 4.8 goals in their last four games while the Flames are also averaging 4.8 goals in their previous five games. These offenses are going to control the game but this game should remain close. I would go with the Minnesota Wild +1.5 here on the puck line and the over to hit in this game.  

* 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.