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Utah vs. Minnesota: NHL Match Prediction
On December 11, the NHL newcomer from Salt Lake will play the first match in the history of the league against Minnesota. Utah has been showing strong results lately and is now back in the fight for a place in the playoffs. Minnesota has lost a lot of points, but this does not prevent Kirill Kaprizov team from being at the top of the Western Conference table. What will the meeting between the rivals be like? Find the answer in our forecast
Command Analysis
Utah Hockey Club
USACurrent form
Utah is in 11th place in the West, but is gradually approaching the eight best teams in the conference. Andre Tourigny charges have scored only 28 points in 27 starts and are four points behind Colorado, which occupies the last slot in the playoff zone. At the end of November, the rookies improved well and scored points in five of the previous six matches. Separately, we note the crushing victory over Vegas in Nevada (6:0), in addition to which the newcomers won against Buffalo (5:2) and Philadelphia (4:2) on the road, but could not cope with the onslaught of Dallas in Salt Lake (1:2).
Jackson Stauber was only recently brought in from the farm team, but he had two very strong games and could become the club starting goalie amid Connor Ingram injury. The American kept Vegas dry and allowed only two goals in two games. The goalie stopped 96.36% of shots in his possession and will definitely get his chance to take the ice again.
Clayton Keller remains Utah scoring leader. The forward from the USA has scored 24 times (7+17) and is one point ahead of Dylan Gunther. The Canadian has 23 points (10+13) in the goal+pass system. On average, the Salt Lake club has only 2.93 goals per game this season, which is not a strong result by league standards.
Disqualifications and injuries
Sean Durzi, Connor Ingram, Maverick Lamoreux and John Marino will not be able to take part in the upcoming fight.
Interesting trends for betting
- Utah is averaging 2.93 goals per game this fall.
Rookies don't always play badly on offense, but their numbers only get worse over time.
- The Salt Lake club averages 27 shots per game
The debutants don't have many shots on goal, but they managed to convert 10.9% of their chances.
Minnesota Wild
USACurrent form
Minnesota maintains the lead in the conference standings with 40 points after 27 games, but the visitors' positions do not look too secure. The Wild have let Winnipeg get close, but the team from Minneapolis has two games in hand and can regain the advantage. After losing to the Jets at the end of November, John Hynes' men have won five games in a row, but their opponents were not the strongest teams. In the current away series, the Wild achieved success in Anaheim (5:1), but the very next day they suffered a big defeat in Los Angeles. They could not score a goal against the Kings for a long time and opened the scoring against Darcy Kuemper only a little over a minute before the end of regulation time.
Minnesota defense remains the strongest in the conference, allowing just 2.41 goals against this season. Filip Gustavsson remains the visiting team No. 1. The Swede has two shutouts in the regular season, playing 20 games. He has a .938 save percentage, one of the best in the league. Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has been a regular starter, but for now he the No. 2 goalie.
The visitors cannot boast of high efficiency and score only 3.19 goals per game. Kirill Kaprizov shares the first place in the list of the league best scorers with Carolina forward Martin Necas. The forward from Russia scored 42 points (17+25) in the goal+pass system and often single-handedly makes a difference for his teammates.
Disqualifications and injuries
Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson, Jakub Lauko and Matts Zuccarello will not be in Salt Lake on Wednesday.
Interesting trends for betting
- Minnesota is allowing 2.31 goals per game on the road this season.
The visitors have played well in defense on the road this season and rarely concede large numbers.
- The Wild allow 28 shots on goal per game
Jared Spurgeon team plays pretty well in their own half of the ice and doesn't let opponents bother their goalies too much.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In five of Minnesota six games, there has not been more than one goal scored in the first period.
1.92Bet 3rd period: Minnesota to score
The Savages have scored in the third period of the last three games.
1.43Tip and bets
Minnesota is still very strong and since the end of November the team from Minneapolis has lost points only in games against the conference leaders. Utah, which looks good at this stage of the season, cannot be counted among them, but wins mainly in matches against opponents who play an open style. The newcomers often stumble in games against teams like the Wild, which was proven by the meeting with Dallas. We think that Jared Spurgeon team will emerge victorious in the first clash between the clubs. We offer a bet on the victory of the guests in regular time.
Our prediction is Minnesota victory at 2.05
Bet on individual total
Utah is scoring just 2.93 goals per game this season and rarely boasts a strong offensive game even at home. Minnesota is very strong on the road and containing the rookie offense will not be a difficult task for the team from Minneapolis. The teams have not yet met each other, but that does not mean the Wild do not know the opponent leaders.
Forecast - Utah individual total under three goals for 1.55
Bet on total
We believe that the teams will try to take a closer look at each other and will not rush into attack with all their might in the first period. Minnesota is generally difficult to call a productive team, and Utah rarely scores in large quantities even at home. In the six previous games in Salt Lake, more than six goals were scored only once. Let play a bet on the total under goals.
Forecast - total under six goals for 1.65
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