With just three wins in their past 11 games the Minnesota Wild will have a few days to regroup before the Boston Bruins visit the Twin Cities for a TNT game on Wednesday. The recent slide also has the Wild clinging to a playoff spot with a number of teams close behind in the congested Western Conference. The Bruins are firmly locked into a wild card spot, but they have their sights set on moving up in the Atlantic Division. With nine wins in 11 games the Bs have climbed the ladder, but will be playing the second of a back-to-back to open a four-game road trip.
The matchup between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN and will air live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Wednesday NHL schedule.
NHL Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Up by more than 10 points in the wild card race, the Bruins can let it all hang out with the hope of climbing higher in their division and in the Eastern Conference. They will need the teams ahead of them to stumble while continuing to stay as hot as they’ve been over the last few weeks. They beat Arizona on Saturday for their second straight win and ninth in 11 games. They also have points in 10 of those outings drawing them closer to Toronto for third in the Atlantic. Boston goes back on the road after recently completing a 5-1 trip where they combined for 20 goals in the last four games cashing the OVER each time. With an 18-8-3 road record the Bruins are $225 in the black despite being down on the moneyline overall.
With a few days off following Sunday’s 6-2 loss to Nashville, the Wild look to regroup as they continue their nine-game homestand. This would be a good time for them to get over the woes that have plagued them in recent games. Going back to the middle of last month the Wild are 4-9-1 in their past 14 games with the inability to keep the puck out of the net a major reason why. They’ve allowed five or more goals eight times during the streak going 1-7. Giving up a lot of goals while remaining proficient on the offensive end has allowed OVER bettors to make some serious coin. The Wild have played over the total 12 times in their last 15 games.
Boston Bruins
While the goals haven’t come as often as in years past, they have been timely. The Bs have played six one-goal games in the last nine winning six of them. They’ve gotten contributions up and down the roster but still rely on their top line of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. The trio has combined for 72 goals with Pastrnak netting 33. That amounts to 40 percent of the goal production.
Sunday’s win was big for a number of reasons. It gave the Bruins a boost as they head on a road trip, and they also got secondary scoring with Craig Smith netting two and Charlie Coyle getting the game-winner late in the third period. And the goaltending of Jeremy Swayman is a boost. He had solid numbers in limited action last season and has continued to be a stopper with a 2.06 GAA and .926 save percentage in 28 games.
Minnesota Wild
Knowing how to beat the Bruins and actually doing it are two different things. Stop the top line and the chances of the Wild getting a win increase dramatically. But it’s been a struggle keeping the puck out of the net recently. Overall they rank 23rd allowing 3.26 goals per game and the penalty kill has been atrocious lately conceding 12 power play goals in the last 31 chances. “It’s killing us,” Dean Evason said.
Cam Talbot is the No. 1 netminder but he’s allowed four or more goals in six of his last seven starts. Backup Kaapo Kahkonen sports a better GAA and save percentage, but he’s 0-5-1 in his last six starts yielding at least four goals in four of those games. Minnesota played a tight defensive game to beat Boston, 3-2, earlier in the season getting a pair of power play goals and strong goaltending from Kahkonen.
NHL Odds Pick
Despite their recent pitfalls I like the Wild, and they’ve been good at home despite Sunday’s loss. With the playoff race tightening up Minnesota needs to play with a sense of urgency and the Bruins aren’t as good as their recent hot spell suggests. I’ll back the home team in this game with the teams combining for a number of chances to hit the OVER.
NHL Odds Prediction: Minnesota 4, Boston 3
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