The Minnesota Wild are on an eight-game point streak. They haven’t generated much offense, relying more on excellent goaltending. But they exploded in a home game against Vancouver on Tuesday, taking a dominant 6-2 win. The Wild welcome the New York Rangers, who snapped a three-game skid with a 4-2 victory against Edmonton Tuesday.
It’s going to be one wild game at Xcel Energy Center. Read on for everything you need to know ahead of this matchup. Over in the NBA, a pair of exciting matchups is on the horizon. Check out our complete previews for the Raptors vs. Bobcats and Thunder vs. Cavaliers.
[sc:NHLArticles ]
New York Rangers vs. Minnesota Wild Preview
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota
When: Thursday, December 17, 8:00 PM ET
Line: New York Rangers (+110) at Minnesota Wild (-130); total 5.0 – view all NHL lines
Betting on the New York Rangers (19-9-4)
The New York Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over Edmonton on Tuesday night. Goalkeeper Henrique Lundqvist stopped 26 of 28 shots, and has now allowed no more than two goals in four of his last five starts.
[sc:NHL240 ]The offensive stars also had their share of the limelight with Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello each finishing with a goal and an assist. Jesper Fast also scored, while defenseman Dylan McIlrath scored his first ever NHL goal. Expect these Rangers to remain hot in this matchup. Nash, in particular, has been beastly against the Wild. He has scored 15 goals and 16 assists in 35 career games against Minnesota.
While Nash will be expected to shine, Zuccarello could have a big game of his own. He leads the team in points (27) and goals (14). Zuccarello is in a three-game point streak. He could further extend that streak if defenseman Keith Yandle could create some opportunistic plays for him. Yandle leads the team with 16 assists this season. The defenseman had two assists in his last outing, the victory over Edmonton.
Scoring a lot will be crucial for the Rangers. They’ll need to hide some shaky road performances from Lundqvist. The Rangers goalkeeper has lost his last three starts on the road. He’s also struggled against the Wild in his career with a 2.82 GAA and .887 save percentage in eight games.
The Rangers have won five of their last seven against Minnesota.
Betting on the Minnesota Wild (16-7-6)
The Minnesota Wild were absolutely spectacular in their last game, scoring a season-high six goals in a 6-2 romp of visiting Vancouver. The Wild now look to continue their three-game home win streak with a big victory over the Rangers.
Thomas Vanek was solid in Tuesday night’s victory over Vancouver. He scored one of the Wild’s three power-play goals and added three assists to lead the team. Zach Parise wasn’t to be contained as well scoring a goal and adding two helpers. Mikko Koivu also scored and had three assists for the Wild.
Of the three, expect Parise and Vaneck to lead the Wild against New York. Parise has been solid against the Rangers scoring 15 goals and 20 assists in 47 career matchups. Vaneck has 12 goals and 12 assists in 35 games against the Rangers. While Koivu may not light the lamp against the Rangers, he could be a force in faceoffs. He won 18 of 23 faceoffs in the big victory over the Canucks on Tuesday night.
The Wild could also be confident in their goaltending. Devan Dubnyk returns after missing time due to a strained groin. He hasn’t allowed a goal in 127 minutes and two seconds over his last three starts. But he allowed three goals in his lone career game against the Rangers, a 3-2 home loss last season in April.
The total has gone under in four of Dubnyk’s last five starts.
Writer’s Prediction
Dubnyk will be a little bit rusty in his first game back, allowing the Rangers (+110) to escape with a hard-fought 3-2 win. Create a betting account now and get your fix of fast-paced NHL action.
