More options are listed in the expert's forecast below. A statistical assessment is not an investment recommendation. 18+
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Matt Baldy's hat trick helped Minnesota to a difficult victory over St. Louis and strengthen its position in the Central Division. Now John Hines' team will host Columbus, which had a tough meeting with the Rangers the day before and won only in overtime. At the same time, the guests have enough problems with the reliability of defense, especially after the recent defeat from Florida. Will they be able to stop the effective attack of the hosts? We study the condition of the opponents in our betting tip and choose a bet
Command Analysis
Minnesota Wild
Matt Baldy became the real hero of Minnesota's last meeting with St. Louis. The American scored a hat-trick and an assist, thanks to which the hosts won with a score of 5:4. Kirill Kaprizov also made a serious contribution, scoring the puck and assisting his teammates twice. Moreover, in the third period, the Wild led 5-2, but allowed the opponent to score twice in the end. However, it was still possible to keep the advantage.
Prior to that, John Hines' team beat Florida (4:1) and Vegas (4:2), although between the victories over the Golden Knights and St. Louis they lost to Winnipeg (2:5). In general, the Minnesota offense is now working quite confidently. I am especially pleased with the performance of Kaprizov, who scored 11 points in five consecutive meetings with effective actions. At the same time, the team has not lost at home yet. However, in the last match, the defenders made several unpleasant mistakes, allowing the Blues to return to the fight.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus managed to make amends for the crushing defeat by Florida, but the victory over the Rangers turned out to be extremely difficult. The teams did not score at all for three periods, and the outcome of the meeting was decided only in overtime. Kent Johnson took advantage of Charlie Coyle and Zach Werensky's passes and gave the hosts a 1-0 victory.
Separately, it is worth praising Jet Greaves, who blocked all 29 shots and scored a dry match. Moreover, before that, the goalkeeper had conceded 11 goals in four meetings, so this result turned out to be especially timely. However, the Blue Jackets' problems haven't gone away. Earlier, the team lost to St. Louis (3:5), and then received seven goals from Florida (3:7). Now we have a second match in two days, and on the road against a rather dangerous opponent. There may not be much strength after a tense confrontation with the Rangers.
Minnesota now has a serious advantage on offense. Kaprizov and Baldy are in excellent shape, and the rest of the links also regularly help the leaders. The hosts look especially confident in front of their fans, where they have won all the matches of the season so far. Columbus, of course, managed to stop the Rangers, but before that he allowed his opponents too much in his own zone. One dry meeting does not mean that all the problems with defense have been solved.
In addition, the guests are playing their second match in two days, while the Wild have received additional recovery time. After the intense confrontation with the New Yorkers, it will not be easy to withstand the constant pressure. If the hosts are able to actively use the opportunities of Kaprizov and Baldy again, they should create enough chances to win. The current form of the offense and the advantage of home ice make Minnesota the favorite of this meeting.
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