Liontips
Minnesota vs. Chicago: NHL Match Prediction
Minnesota will meet Chicago on its home ice on December 24. It is quite expected that bookmakers highlight the home team as the clear favorites of this confrontation, since they are superior in class to their counterpart. However, the Wild are currently far from their optimal form and are not feeling well. The Hawks, on the contrary, have often earned points in recent matches. Is it worth betting on the Wild’s success? Find out from our forecast
Command Analysis
Minnesota Wild
USACurrent form
Minnesota remains one of the leaders of the Western Conference, but it can lose everything if it continues to show such results. The team has shown disastrous results this month and is currently on a series of four defeats. Let us recall that earlier on home ice it lost to Vegas (2:3), Florida (1:6) and Utah (1:2), and on the road it could not cope with Winnipeg, losing to it with a crushing score of 0:5 and not scoring a single goal.
In general, John Hines' team has been experiencing serious problems both in defense and in attack lately. As a rule, he fails to score more than one or two goals, and in response, he consistently misses three times. Also, in previous meetings, Kirill Kaprizov rarely scored. Without goals from him, the club chances for a favorable outcome always become much smaller.
It is also worth mentioning that Minnesota still cannot find its game in the majority and ranks 22nd in the league in this indicator, with 17.8% of power play. The team plays the worst in the final twenty minutes, in which it has a ratio of 38:39 in goals scored and conceded and almost never comes out "dry" in this period. By the way, on its ice up to this point the club was able to win only five victories in regulation time in 16 matches played.
Disqualifications and injuries
Middleton, Eriksson Ek and Lauko will not take part in the upcoming fight
Interesting trends for betting
- Minnesota gets 7.35 penalty minutes
"Savages" are usually sent off at least three times per game
- According to statistics, the "savages" allow 2.94 goals per game on their home ice.
On home ice, the team plays rather weakly in defense and usually concedes three times
Chicago Blackhawks
USACurrent form
Chicago is temporarily the main outsider of the Western Conference, but can improve its position in the standings with just one win. The team had previously shown decent results and even managed to produce a series of three victories, greatly pleasing the home stands. Thus, with the support of their fans, the Hawks dealt with the Islanders (5:3), Washington (3:2), and also beat Seattle with a score of 3:1. However, as soon as they went on the road, they immediately lost to Calgary with a score of 4:6.
In that match, the Blackhawks completely lost the first 40 minutes and only got back into the fight in the third period, where they scored three goals in a row, but they simply didn't have enough time to make a full-fledged comeback. Perhaps the team benefited from the change of head coach, as the club started to look much more interesting under Sorensen.
On the road this year, Chicago still plays rather poorly, because in 19 games held, it was able to win only four victories in regulation time. It is noteworthy that the Blackhawks feel most comfortable within the starting period and often score goals in it, but the third twenty minutes are usually dictated by the opponent, because in it they have a ratio of 31:47 in goals scored and goals conceded.
Disqualifications and injuries
Smith and Brossoit will not be able to take part in the upcoming meeting
Interesting trends for betting
- Chicago gets 8.09 penalty minutes
The Hawks struggle with discipline and are almost always penalized at least four times
- Chicago has a 22.5% power play percentage.
The team currently ranks 11th in the league in this indicator.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total under 1.5 goals
In four out of five matches between the teams, the first period was unscoring
1.85Bet 3rd period: away team win
In the last four matches, the visitors kept the third period for themselves
3.65Tip and bets
Chicago should definitely not be underestimated in the upcoming match. The team has shown great results recently and has coped with stronger opponents than Minnesota. The Wild are in terrible shape and are on a long losing streak. Plus, in previous matches against the Hawks, they usually did not achieve success with a huge difference in the score. The last meeting between the clubs ended with a score of 3:2 in favor of the hosts and was an equal fight. Based on this, we bet on the success of the outsider with a handicap.
Forecast - Chicago win with Asian handicap (+1) for pucks for 2.00
Bet on individual total
Chicago has demonstrated a good defensive game in previous meetings and often managed with fewer than three goals conceded. Minnesota, in turn, had serious problems with creating and implementing chances and usually did not distinguish itself with more than two goals scored. It is quite possible that Hines' team may have similar difficulties in the upcoming confrontation. We do not think that in the current state of the Wild are capable of scoring four times.
We bet on Minnesota individual total under 3.5 goals for 1.72
Total Bet
The last matches involving Chicago, as a rule, were not particularly productive. The Hawks use their moments well, but at the same time they prefer to concede a little. By the way, Minnesota also often played previous matches with less than six goals scored. The Savages, after a series of failures, will definitely not dare to play open hockey, so we suggest betting on the total under.
We take the total under six goals for 1.62
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