NHL Odds: Wild-Hurricanes prediction, pick, how to watch

Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend is almost here! Until then, sit back and relax for an entertaining matchup as the Minnesota Wild take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Join us for our NHL odds series where our Wild-Hurricanes prediction and pick will be revealed.

Fresh off an impressive 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals, the Wild are in the midst of a three-game winning streak and boast a record of 25-14-4 through the first 43 games of the season. Does Minnesota have enough firepower to win a fourth consecutive game tonight?

As for the Hurricanes, Carolina enters play this evening after a nail-biting 4-3 shootout loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks after winning back-to-back games. All together, Carolina is enduring yet another successful season after coming away with the top record out east a year ago.

Here are the Wild-Hurricanes NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Wild-Hurricanes Odds

Minnesota Wild: +1.5 (-168)

Carolina Hurricanes: -1.5 (+136)

Over: 6 (+108)

Under: 6 (-132)

How To Watch Wild vs. Hurricanes

TV: ESPN+

Stream: NHLPP/ESPN+

Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT

*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Wild Could Cover The Spread

First things first, the Wild have quickly made a name for themselves when it comes to covering the spread with a not-too-shabby 22-21 record against the spread. While this may not be an eye-popping number to many, keep in mind that the Hurricanes possess a better overall record in comparison to Minnesota this season but have only compiled a 17-27 mark ATS thus far.

Other than the fact that the Wild have the advantage with their spread-covering record on paper, they also have the edge then it comes to their defensive prowess and scalding-hot goaltending in net. In fact, the Wild have only surrendered four goals over their previous four games and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon in that department. Credit Filip Gustavsson for this as his tremendous play as Minnesota’s goalie this season has been a big reason why the Wild remain as one of the top contenders in the Western Conference. Alas, Gustavsson has the second-best save percentage to his name and also is only allowing 2.16 goals per game.

Outside of Minnesota’s dominating goaltending play, be on the lookout for the Wild to exploit the Hurricanes with the extra-man advantage. Although the Wild were 0/2 on the power-play attack against the Capitals, Minnesota must find a way to pot a couple goals whenever Carolina commits penalties and is shorthanded. As a whole, the Wild have converted on nearly 23% of their power-play opportunities as this should only see an uptick north if the Wild can get some good looks by displaying stellar puck movement throughout.

Why The Hurricanes Could Cover The Spread

On the other side of things, the Hurricanes are currently one of the league’s top squads from top-to-bottom and have proved thus far that they are on a mission to right their wrongs from last year’s postseason run that saw the team go down in crushing fashion to the New York Rangers in the seventh game of the second round.

In order to cover the spread at home where they have posted a productive 13-5-2 record, expect the Hurricanes to find other forms of production if team captain Jordan Staal misses another contest due to personal reasons. Regardless, Carolina should be in good hands still with names like right-winger Andrei Svechnikov to go along with the dynamic centers in Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas, this offensive unit should not miss a beat.

At first glance, this offense averages 3.14 goals per game, but it has been the effort on the defensive side of the ice that has made this club so lethal. Rarely shooting themselves in the foot, Carolina gives up the seventh-fewest goals per game and loves to make life difficult for opponents on the power play. Alas, the ‘Canes kill off penalties an extremely productive 80% of the time, and do a solid job in clearing the puck whenever they get possession of it.

Not to mention, but it is hard to ignore how special goalie Pyotr Kochetkov has been for his team. At the ripe age of 23, Kochetkov has stopped 91% of shots on goal this year and has started the bulk of games in net for Carolina.

Final Wild-Hurricanes Prediction & Pick

Buckle up hockey betting fans, for we should be in for a treat in this epic showdown! At the end of the day, side with the Hurricanes to overwhelm the Wild at home where they have been tough to defeat all season long.

Final Wild-Hurricanes Prediction & Pick: Hurricanes -1.5 (+136)