Minnesota Wild vs Washington Capitals Preview
The Capitals and Wild are set to face off at 8:00 ET on ESPN+. The Wild will host the game at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.
The over/under for this game is set at 5.5 goals, and the Wild are the home favorites against the Capitals in a non-conference matchup. Check out BetCoco for Minnesota Wild – Washington Capitals odds
Minnesota Wild vs Washington Capitals Head-to-Head and Key Stats
The last five times, the Capitals have faced off against the Wild on the road, they are above .500 at 3-2. Looking back over the previous three times that the Capitals and Wild have faced off, they have combined to average 5 goals per game and have an over/under record of 1-1-1.
- When looking at their past three road matchups, Washington has an puck line record of 2-1 while averaging 1 per game. The team went 1-2 overall in these games.
- Minnesota has a 1-2 record in their last three home games. In this stretch, they averaged 2 goals per game while allowing 3. The team also performed well vs the puck line at 2-1.
- Looking back on the team’s last ten games as the underdog, the Wild have a straight up record of 2-8. Their record vs the puck line in these games was 4-6.
- Over the team’s last five games as the favorite, the Capitals struggled vs the puck line going just 2-3. However, they still had a straight up mark of 4-1.
Minnesota Wild vs Washington Capitals Prediction
Through 44 games, the Capitals are 11th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-16-6. In the Metropolitan Division, they are in 6th place. On the road, Washington is 9-9-2 this season and have lost their last two games away from home.
As the underdog, the Capitals have gone 11-15-4 this season. Over their last ten games, Washington has a record of 5-5. In their last three games, they have won two of them. For the year, the Capitals have been favored in 14 of their 44 games.
In terms of their offensive performance, the Capitals are averaging 2.3 goals per game this season, putting them in the 30th spot in the NHL. When it comes to shots on goal per game, they are ranked 32nd in the league. In terms of power play goals, the Capitals offense is 32nd in power play goals. As for shorthanded goals, they are 31st in the NHL.
Entering the game, goalie Darcy Kuemper has started 22 games this season. His current record stands at 11-10, and his save percentage is 0.709%.
At home this season, the Wild have gone 11-9-3 and have been favored in 19 of their 46 games. In the Central Division, Minnesota is in 7th place with a 3-7 division record. Overall, the Wild are 20-21-5, which has them in 13th place in the Western Conference.
Over their last ten games, the Wild have gone 4-6, and they have won two straight games. As the favorite, Minnesota has gone 13-4-2 this season, and they have gone 2-1 in their last three games.
On offense, the Wild are averaging 3 goals per game which is 20th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are 20th in the league. In terms of power play goals, the Wild offense is 14th in power play goals. As for shorthanded goals, they are 23rd in the NHL.
Goalie Filip Gustavsson gets the start and has made 25 starts this season. His record at this point is 12-11, and his save percentage is 0.796%.
The Wild enter this game as 1.5-goal favorites and in our projections and we anticipate them winning by a score of 4-3.
Minnesota Wild vs Washington Capitals Betting Tips
- Take the Wild on the moneyline
- On the spread, we like Capitals (+1.5)
- Our NHL model projects 7 goals, and we suggest taking the under
Minnesota Wild Injury Report
- Jared Spurgeon – Lower Body – Out
- Marc-Andre Fleury – Upper Body – Questionable
- Frederick Gaudreau – Upper Body – Questionable
- Vinni Lettieri – Lower Body – Out
- Connor Dewar – Lower Body – Out
- Sam Hentges – Undisclosed – Out
Washington Capitals Injury Report
- Sonny Milano – Upper Body – Out
- Nicklas Backstrom – Hip – Out
- Rasmus Sandin – Upper Body – Out
