| Range | W | L | P | +/- (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | 1 | 2 | 0.00 | -2.00 |
| Last 30 Days | 31 | 26 | 0.00 | +22.84 |
| Season to Date | 108 | 119 | 0.00 | +31.05 |
BOTH PLAYS ARE FOR 2 UNITS
Minnesota +122 over VANCOUVER
OT included. Since the acquisition of Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota has picked up nine out of a possible 12 points. They have outscored the opposition 18-10 over that span and if you take away the five goals that Detroit scored during this current stretch they have allowed just five goals in the other five games. All of this should come as no surprise, as the advanced stats suggested that Minnesota was a top-5 team. Had the Wild had Dubnyk since the start of the year, there’s a great chance that they would be a top five squad. The Wild have allowed the fewest shots on net and the fewest scoring chances in the entire league. Minnesota’s goals for and against are an inaccurate account of what this team is capable of. Its goals allowed is a direct result of the weakest goaltending in the league, which directly affects the goals for too. Those soft goals that the Backstrom/Kuemper duo gave up every game were deflating. They often put Minnesota behind the eight ball and had them playing catch-up. It took this sound and methodical team off its game and it also takes a mental toll over time. Minnesota is learning how to win regularly again and they’re playing with so much more confidence too.
Vancouver is 4-4 over its past eight games. However, the four victories occurred against Philly, Carolina and Florida before the break and Buffalo after the break. Vancouver’s defeats over that same span occurred against Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Nashville and Calgary. Do you see the difference there? The Canucks are defeating the teams than them lower in the standings but losing to the teams that are higher. The Canucks are having difficulty against quality teams. In fact, in those four losses, the Canucks scored just two goals and got shutout twice. Now they’ll play one of the top defenses in the league. Minnesota has outshot all six of their last opponents since acquiring Dubnyk. Only once over those six games did they allow more than 26 shots on net. The Wild are more than capable of holding this struggling Vancouver offense in check and to a low shot total. The Wild are the better team in better form taking back a tag.
Nashville +144 over PITTSBURGH
OT included. No doubt that the loss of Pekka Rinne has hurt the Predators in a big way but this number is certainly an overreaction to Nashville’s recent struggles. The Preds have just one victory since Rinne was injured and that lone win was against the Avs in OT. However, it’s not as bad as it seems. The Preds also lost to Montreal 2-1 in OT while outshooting the Canadiens 37-27. They also took the Blues to OT. Outside of Nashville’s recent 3-0 loss to Colorado in a three in four situation, the Preds have been dominating play by a wide margin. They have 36 shots on net or more in every game they’ve played without Rinne with the exception of the last one. The Preds are simply too good to be taking back a tag like this against a depleted Pens team.
Pittsburgh is without Evgeni Malkin and they just lost stalwart defenseman Christian Erhoff. As much as the Preds are struggling in terms of wins and losses, the Pens are struggling even more. Pittsburgh has two wins in its last seven games and they have scored two goals or fewer in five of its past six. Pens goaltender Marc Andre Fleury is not in good form either. The Penguins have allowed three goals or more in six of their last seven games. The only team that didn’t score three or more was the offensively challenged Devils, who have the second fewest goals scored in the league. Rarely are we going to see a tag like this on the Preds. They were taking back just +140 in Chicago at the end of December and they were only taking back +130 in Detroit more recently. This is true value on one of the NHL’s best teams and we’re on it.
