Wild vs. Lightning Odds
| Wild Odds | +136 |
| Lightning Odds | -164 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | BSSUN |
The Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning are set for their second meeting this month.
The Wild ran the Lightning out of the building on Jan. 4, beating them by the score of 5-1 in Minnesota.
The Bolts haven't had the best of luck in recent history against the Wild, only winning one of the last eight meetings between these two teams.
This is a very important game for both of these teams, since they each enter this contest on two-game losing streaks.
Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn't been at his best lately. He has lost his last two starts, and this could be a great spot for the Wild to pull off the upset.
Will Wild Score Big Again vs. Tampa?
The Wild have been a very interesting team this season and for whatever reason, they always seem to get the best of the Lightning.
The Wild announced that Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start for this one. He hasn't necessarily been at his best lately, but he always steps up in important games for his team.
He enters this contest with a 14-9-3 record, along with a .902 save percentage and a 2.94 goals against average.
Fleury can hold his own against Vasilevskiy.
The Wild are led offensively by their superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has four points in his last two games and has recorded a point in five of his last six games.
He has 26 goals and 30 assists in 45 games this season.
As a team, Minnesota has one of the higher xGF/60 — currently at a 3.12 — but it has scored nine goals in its last three games.
This team will definitely have its work cut out for it, but it has been solid on the road all season, and it certainly has the manpower to pull off the upset.
Lightning Need More on Power Play
The Lightning are set to return home after a long five-game road trip where they went 3-2-0.
Vasilevskiy didn't have the best showing in his last two starts, allowing eight goals against in those games combined. He has still been solid in the blue paint this season, but he hasn't been the same out-of-this-world goalie that we have gotten used to seeing.
The Lightning haven't been all that good defensively as they fall in the middle of the pack, allowing 2.98 goals against per contest, while skating to a 3.18 xGA.60.
Tampa's power play has been its bread and butter this season. It's currently the second-best man advantage unit in the league — converting at 27.1% — but the Lightning haven't converted on the power play in their last four games, going 0-for-11 in that span.
The Bolts are a very good team, but they are also a very beatable team.
Wild vs. Lightning Pick
The Wild are catching the Lightning in a good spot here. Both teams have the same amount of rest, so fatigue isn't necessarily a factor.
The difference in this game should come down to special teams and right now, the Wild have the advantage in that category.
In their last two games, the Wild have converted on 50% of their power plays (3/6) and the Bolts haven't scored on any (0/8).
The Wild have dominated the Lightning in recent history, and I like them to continue that trend as a road underdog in this one.
Pick: Minnesota Wild ML (+135) |
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