Wild vs. Red Wings Pick
Will the host Detroit Red Wings open their new arena with a win Thursday night over the Minnesota Wild? Game time is 7:30PM EST.
The Wild are a -140 favorite to win on the moneyline according to sports book Bovada.lv. The Red Wings are a +120 underdog and the over-under is set at 5.5.
Minnesota finiahed last year 49-25-8 and lost in five games to the Blues in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Detroit went 33-36-13 and had its record streak of 25 straight years making the postseason snapped. The two meetings were split last year as Minnesota won 6-3 on its home ice and Detroit prevailed 3-2 in overtime in its home game. The over-under was 1-1 in the two games.
The Wild were paced last year by Mikael Granlund (26 G, 43 A) and Eric Staal (28 G, 37 A). Devin Dubnyk was 40-19-5 in goal with a 2.25 GAA and .923 save percentage. The Red Wings were led by Henrik Zetterberg (17 G, 51 A) and Gustav Nyquist (12 G, 36 A). Petr Mrazek was 18-21-4 with a 3.04 GAA and .901 save percentage.
Detroit is without electric young forward Andreas Anathasiou, who is holding out for a new contract. The Red Wings have been in a downturn for the last few years as their salary cap situation is a mess and it isn’t going to be getting any better soon. Minnesota is a very difficult matchup for the first regular season game at Little Caesars Arena. If Dubnyk is on his game and the Wild can generate some offense as it did with regularity last year, expect the visitors to spoil the show.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WILD -140