Wild vs Avalanche Prediction, Odds and Picks Mar 29

Minnesota Riding Pair of Point Streaks

Two of the hottest teams in the NHL meet in a Central Division showdown when the Minnesota Wild visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Minnesota has points in five straight overall (4-0-1), 10 in a row on the road (7-0-3) and is a stunning 15-1-4 across the past 20 contests to take over first place in the Central, one point ahead of the Avalanche. Matt Boldy recorded a hat trick Monday in a 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken.

Colorado has won nine of its past 10 outings after a 5-1 triumph at the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. It was not too long ago that Colorado was out of playoff position and now the Avs stand a win from first place.

The Avalanche host Dallas, who trailed the Wild by three points entering Tuesday’s contest against Chicago, in their next game Saturday.

Boldy Filling The Net

Boldy has stepped up big time in the absence of Wild leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov.

The 21-year-old forward from Massachusetts registered 11 goals in nine games since Kaprizov went down with a lower-body injury as the Wild earned points in eight of nine contests (6-1-2).

Per #NHLStats, Matt Boldy became the fourth U.S born player to record three hat tricks before age 22 joining Jimmy Carson (7), Alex DeBrincat (4) and Jeremy Roenick (4). #mnwild

— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) March 28, 2023

Center Joel Eriksson Ek has also been a major factor with Kaprizov out, compiling nine points in the past seven games with a +6 rating. Veteran forward Marcus Johansson has also proved to be a good pickup at the trade deadline, recording 11 points in 13 games.

The Wild still lean on their defense and goaltending, but the over is 5-1 in their last six road games and 4-0-1 in the past five after allowing two or less goals in the previous game. However, if you are betting online, the under is 6-1-1 when their opponent scored five or more times in the previous game.

Avalanche on a Roll

Colorado swept a quick two-day, two-game road trip against Arizona (4-3, OT) and Anaheim to close within a point of the division lead.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist Monday and boasts 22 of his team-best 95 points in his last 13 games for the Avalanche. Fellow forward Valeri Nichushkin owns a seven-game points streak with three goals and five assists during the run while defenseman Cale Makar has registered 21 of 66 points in his past 11 outings.

Goalie Alexandar Georgiev was rested on Monday after beating Arizona on Sunday for his seventh win in an eight-game span (16 goals allowed). Georgiev went into Tuesday second in the league with 34 wins.

The over is 6-1 in the last seven after Colorado allowed two or less goals in the previous game, but the under is 13-3-2 in the past 18 versus the Central according to NHL lines.

Wild vs Avalanche Game Injuries

Wild vs Avalanche Head-to-Head

The Avalanche have conquered Minnesota twice this season, going into the last meeting.

MacKinnon recorded two goals and three assists in the two wins for Colorado, which got 77 saves on 82 shots from Georgiev. The Avalanche won 6-3 on Oct. 17 and 3-2 on Feb. 15 at Minnesota.

Boldy has registered two goals and two assists in the series this season.

The under was 4-1-1 in the NHL odds the last six meetings between the two Western Conference rivals.

Colorado is+250 to win the West (first) and Minnesota is +900 (sixth).

Wild vs Avalanche Game Information

• Game: Wild (43-22-9) vs Avalanche (44-23-6)
• Day/Time: Wednesday, March 29th, 10 p.m. ET
• Location: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
• Wild vs Avalanche Live Stream: NHL.TV

Wild vs Avalanche Betting Lines

Wild vs Avalanche Picks and Prediction

With both teams playing at a top level, this should be a tight, intense contest.

Georgiev will be well rested and both Minnesota goalies — Filip Gustavsson (8-1-4 in his last 13) and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury (8-0-1 in his past nine) – are red hot.

The Wild are third in the league in goals-against per game (2.62) and the Avalanche sixth (2.71) through Monday’s games.

The only thing that could help the over in this one is that Colorado is 14 of 35 on the power play the last 11 games and Minnesota has struggled killing penalties in the past nine outings (19 of 29).

If you are online gambling, the under is still a good bet and the Wild have lost four in a row at Colorado.

The Wild are listed at +130 in our Las Vegas NHL odds. This means that if you wager $100 on Minnesota, you have a chance to win $130. The Avalanche are -150, offering a chance to win $67 on a $100 wager.

The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Wild a 43.48% chance to win, with Colorado at 60.00%.