Minnesota Wild at Detroit Red Wings NHL Picks & Predictions 10/5/2017

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Little Ceasars Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Minnesota Wild travel to Little Ceasars Arena to play the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, October 5, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Wild at +130 and the Red Wings at +185.

Minnesota had a record of 49-25-8 last season and on the road they had a record of 22-13-6. They finished 2nd in the Central Division. They scored 266 goals and gave up 208 goals for a point differential of +58. For the season they had an ATS record of 50-37-0 and an over/under record of 43-35-0. Detroit finished with a record of 33-36-13 including 17-17-7 at home last season. They were 7th in the Atlantic Division. They scored 207 goals and surrendered 244 for a goal differential of -37. Their record against the spread was 33-49-0 while their over/under record was 36-34-0.

Valuable Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild were 50-37-0 straight up last year

The Minnesota Wild were 43-35-0 against the over/under last season

Important Detroit Red Wings Betting Trends

The Detroit Red Wings were 33-49-0 straight up last year

The Detroit Red Wings were 36-34-0 against the over/under last season

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

10/02/17 LW Zach Parise Back is downgraded to doubtful Thursday vs. Detroit

Key Detroit Red Wings Injuries

10/02/17 D Nicklas Jensen Thumb "?" Thursday vs. Minnesota
10/02/17 D Niklas Kronwall Groin "?" Thursday vs. Minnesota
10/02/17 LW Tyler Bertuzzi Wrist out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Eric Staal accumulated 64 total points last season for the Wild. He had 27 goals last year with 209 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He had a total of 37 assists on the season and averaged 18.6 minutes played per game. Mikael Granlund averaged 18.8 minutes of ice time per game last year. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 26 goals on 177 shots. He had 43 assists giving him a total of 69 points on the season. Devan Dubnyk had 40 wins and 19 losses last season in net for the Wild. He had 1,842 shots against him and he gave up 141 goals. He made 1,701 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Henrik Zetterberg scored 66 total points last year for the Red Wings. He had 16 goals last season with 187 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He had a total of 50 assists on the season and averaged 19.7 minutes played per game. Anthony Mantha averaged 15.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 17 goals on 133 shots. He had 19 assists giving him a total of 36 points on the season. Jimmy Howard had 10 wins and 11 losses last year in goal for the Red Wings. He had 675 shots against him and he surrendered 49 goals. He made 626 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild had 106 total points last season, which ranked them 5th in the NHL. They were 2nd in the league in goals scored with 266 while they gave up 208 goals, ranking them 24th overall. They had 224 power play opportunities and scored 47 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. That was 9th in the NHL. The Wild allowed 217 power play opportunities and gave up 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, putting them 8th in the league when short-handed. They averaged 31 shots per game and as a team shot 10.53% for the season. They allowed 30 shots to their opposition per contest and had a team save percentage of 92%. That put them 7th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Red Wings were 25th in the NHL with a total of 79 points last year. They had 38 power play goals on 252 opportunities for a percentage of 15%. That ranked them 27th in the league as a power play unit. They allowed 235 power play opportunities and gave up 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That was 16th in the NHL. As a team, the Red Wings were 24th in the league with 207 goals scored while they gave up 244 goals, which was 5th overall. They averaged 28 shots per contest and had a team shooting percentage of 8.87%. As a team they gave up 31 shots per game and had a save percentage of 90%. That was 25th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Minnesota had a Corsi percentage of 49.8% as they tried 4,566 shots on goal while at full strength while they surrendered 4,604 shots on net when they had a full team on the ice. That ranked them 17th in Corsi percentage. They were 17th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 50% as they had 3,444 shots while they gave up 3,443 attempts on defense. The Wild started possessions in the offensive zone 50.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage was at 49.5% for the year. That put them 13th and 11th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They had 2,550 face-off wins as opposed to 2,359 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 51.9%. That was 6th overall in the NHL. On defense Minnesota had 1,284 hits and they blocked 1,161 attempts from opposing offenses, which was 15th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

Detroit had a Corsi percentage of 48.5% as they tried 4,286 shots on goal while at full strength while they surrendered 4,546 shots on net when they had a full team on the ice. That ranked them 22nd in Corsi percentage. They were 25th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.4% as they had 3,270 shots while they gave up 3,480 attempts on defense. The Red Wings started possessions in the offensive zone 52.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage was at 47.7% for the year. That put them 9th and 20th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They had 2,520 face-off wins as opposed to 2,338 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 51.9%. That was 5th overall in the NHL. On defense Detroit had 1,644 hits and they blocked 1,066 attempts from opposing offenses, which was 25th in the league.

Who will win tonight's Wild/Red Wings NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Detroit +185

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Guy Bruhn