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Wild vs Blues Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions

Wild and Blues appear headed to a first-round playoff matchup

The key showdown in Central Division could be high-scoring affair

The St. Louis Blues can move into sole possession of second place in the Central Division with a win in regulation, while the Minnesota Wild would remain in second with a win or an overtime/shootout loss.

These teams have almost identical resumes since the changing of the calendar. The Wild have a points percentage of .654, compared to .645 for the Blues. The Blues score 3.79 goals per game, as opposed to 3.59 for the Wild. There’s little separat\ing the teams in goals-against average and power-play success, The one major difference is that St. Louis is killing off 83% of opposing team’s power plays, compared to 70.7 for Minnesota.

Wild vs Blues Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions
Wild vs Blues Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions

The Wild are looking for a 20th road win of the season\, while the Blues are tied for third in the Western Conference with 23 victories at home.

Minnesota (+1800) is 10th-lowest in the odds to win the Stanley Cup, while St. Louis checks in at +2500.

Let’s check the latest NHL lines, stats, injury reports, and NHL odds for Wild vs Blues . We’ve plenty of NHL picks and predictions

Kirill the Thrill lighting the lamp for the Wild

It seems ages ago when there were questions about Kirill Kaprizov’s future with the Minnesota Wild. That was before the electric winger signed a five-year contract extension in September.

Wild fans are certainly happy to have Kaprizov in the fold, even if it carries one of the top 30 salary cap hits in the NHL.

Kaprizov is second to Toronto’s Auston Matthews with 16 goals since the start of March, and his seven power-play goals during that stretch are third-best in the league.

Remember that Kaprizov did not score his first goal of the season until his ninth game. Entering this game, the 24-year-old Kaprizov has goals in seven of his last eight contests. He had nine goals and three assists during a recent 10-game stretch when the Wild went 9-0-1, vaulting them into second place (behind the runaway Colorado Avalanche) in the division.

Kaprizov scored his 40th goal of the season when the run of points in 10 straight games ended with a loss to Nashville the last time out.

Seven of Minnesota’s last 10 games went under the NHL betting lines total.

Thomas starting to find the back of the net for the Blues

If there was one complaint during Robert Thomas’ breakout season with the St. Louis Blues, it was that he was too quick to look for teammates rather than taking his own open shots.

Thomas had 20 assists before he scored his third goal of the season. The former first-round pick is still piling up the assists, but also adding to his goal total.

Thomas had back-to-back two-goal games against the New York Rangers and Nashville Predators (March 10th and 12th), In his last five games, Thomas has eight points (four goals and four assists).

St. Louis is 5-0-1 in the last six games when Thomas has at least one goal. The Blues already have seven players with at least 20 goals this season. At 16 goals, Thomas could join that list sooner rather than later. That’s not bad for a player who had just 22 goals in 169 regular-season games coming into this season.

Ten of the Blues’ last 14 games went over the Las Vegas odds total.

Wild vs Blues Head-to-Head

St. Louis has dominated the recent meetings, winning seven of the last eight games, including the Winter Classic New Year’s Day, 6-4. Jordan Kyrou led the way with two goals and two assists,

Something to consider for those who NHL betting, St. Louis has won the last three games against Minnesota by a combined score of 17-7.

Five of the last six games between the Wild and Blues had at least seven combined goals. Minnesota has been favored in five of the last six games.

Wild vs Blues Game Information

  • Game: Wild (43-21-5) vs Blues (40-20-10)
  • Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
  • Day/Time: Friday, April 8th, 8:00 p.m. ET
  • Wild vs Blues Live stream: NHL.TV

Wild vs Blues Betting Lines

Wild vs Blues Prediction

Both teams are without puck-moving defensemen. Minnesota’s Matt Dumba was injured (upper body/shoulder) in a loss to Nashville and is out. Dumba is third among Minnesota defensemen with 26 points this season. Torey Krug of the Blues will miss his ninth game in a row (upper body/hand). Kyrou, who leads the Blues with 63 points, and promising Wild rookie Matthew Boldy, are both questionable for the game.

Minnesota and St. Louis currently rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in goals per game, so this could be another high-scoring affair.

Pick: Minnesota Wild (-110)

Pick: St. Louis Blues +1½ Goals (-250)

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