St. Louis vs. Minnesota. NHL Match Prediction and Bets

Current form

St. Louis has been showing rather mediocre results throughout the season and it is not surprising that it is in 12th place in the Western Conference. It will be very difficult for the team to reach the playoff zone and secure a place in the top eight, since at the moment it is in poor shape and cannot find its game at all. Let us recall that it suffered five defeats in six matches and was able to deal only with Boston (3:2 OT). Immediately after a successful match, the Blues lost to Carolina on the road with a score of 1:4, failing to impose a close fight on the opponent.

By the way, today the club is one of the most conceding in its conference, and usually at least three or four pucks end up in its net. As a rule, it plays the worst in the opening game segment, in which it has a ratio of 10:19 in goals scored and goals conceded. It is also worth mentioning that only in a third of home games did the team achieve success within 60 minutes.

It should be emphasized that Drew Bannister team also has difficulties with the penalty kill. At the moment, it ranks 24th in the league in this indicator and has a 76.9% neutralization rate of the opponent power play. It should be noted that the "blues" are seriously lacking in system in their game, and they continue to play a rather chaotic hockey on opposite courses without a clear idea.

Disqualifications and injuries

Leddy, Krug, Thomas, Broberg and Joseph will not take part in the fight due to injuries.

Interesting trends for betting

• St. Louis is averaging 26 shots on goal.

The "Notes" are forced to spend a lot of time in their own zone and defend

• "Notes" have 13.6% of the majority sales

The team has serious problems playing in 5v4 format and does not use most of its attempts

Current form

Minnesota is consistently in second place in the Western Conference and is currently five points behind the conference leader Winnipeg. The team has looked very good since the start of the season and is trying to avoid even two defeats in a row, replacing an unsuccessful match with several victories in a row. However, recently it has alternated victories with defeats. Thus, on the road, the Wild dealt with Anaheim (5:2), then lost to Chicago (1:2 OT), and upon returning to their home court, they beat Montreal (3:0) and again lost to Dallas with a score of 1:2. It is noteworthy that they lost to the Sheriffs for the second time this season and have not yet been able to find the keys to them.

We also mustn't forget that Max Zuccarello and Eriksson Ek have dropped out of the lineup, without whom the attack line certainly doesn't look as strong as before. Of course, Kirill Kaprizov remains in the leading positions, but he needs reliable partners who won't let him down in the finishing. However, it possible that the Wild will be able to adapt and rebuild their game.

It should be noted that this season John Hynes' squad has demonstrated excellent results on the road and in ten matches played only once allowed itself to be dealt with in regulation time. The first 40 minutes of the match are usually the most successful for Minnesota, during which it gains a comfortable advantage, but the third twenty minutes are far from always under its control.

Disqualifications and injuries

Brodin, Zuccarello and Eriksson Ek will not play in this match due to injuries.

Interesting trends for betting

• Minnesota gets 6.35 penalty minutes per game.

The Wild remain one of the league most disciplined clubs and rarely have more than three penalties in a match

• On average, the Wild score 3.8 goals per game on the road.

Minnesota is showing a powerful game on offense and skillfully opening up the opponent defense