Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche Prediction, 3/18/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (+125) Avalanche (-150)

Kaapo Kahkonen and the Minnesota Wild (18-8-1) head to Ball Arena on Thursday where they'll take on the Colorado Avalanche (17-8-2). The Wild open this matchup at +125 while the Avalanche are coming in at -150. The total is set at 5.5.

The Wild will head into their next game feeling good after earning a 3-0 win against the Coyotes in their previous contest. Their offensive zone starts were at 42.9% and their PDO was 112.5 in this one. They tallied 19 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 22 opportunities to take control of the puck. Their Fenwick came in at 27 and the Fenwick against was 33, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 45.0%. The Corsi for the Wild was sitting at 32 and the Corsi against at the end of this game was 39 which had their Corsi percentage coming in at 45.1%. Minnesota garnered 31 penalty minutes in this contest. Moreover, they had 3 chances with the advantage but weren't able to net one. The Wild had an average offensive outing in the victory. In the matchup, they converted 3 of the 26 shots they looked to score on.

Concerning their scoring capabilities, the Minnesota Wild have accumulated 86 goals (14th in the league) on the season and have allowed 64. For the season, the have a total of 37 points and their points percentage sits at .685. Minnesota has compiled 86 power play chances and they have scored 7 goals out of those tries, giving them a rate of 8.14%. When at even strength, the Wild have allowed the opponent to score 51 goals while having 79 themselves. Minnesota has tried 824 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 10.4%. The Wild have had 776 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .918. Minnesota Wild opponents have recorded 94 power play opportunities (9th in the NHL) and have scored 13 goals in those attempts.

The man protecting the goal in this game is Kaapo Kahkonen. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Kahkonen has 12 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .600. His save percentage currently sits at .923 for his 1,240 mins on the ice. Kahkonen has had 611 shots against him and has accrued 564 total saves. The opposition has been able to score 47 goals against Kahkonen in his pro career and his goals against rate is 2.27. He has accumulated an overall mark of 15-5-1 and he has gotten the start in 20 games. Kahkonen has taken the ice for 21 contests during his NHL career.

Their last time out, Colorado played the Ducks in an outing where the Avalanche took home the victory by a score of 8-4. They had 3 power play opportunities in this one and scored 2 out of those attempts. The Avalanche recorded 8 goals out of the 36 shots on goal they tried. Their PDO at even strength was 99 and their oZS percentage was 57.9%. Colorado wrapped up this game with a 70.2% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Colorado played and it was a good performance overall. Their Fenwick rate came in at 71.4% by notching a Fenwick of 45 and the Ducks finishing with a 18 Fenwick at even strength.

Colorado has taken 923 shots (5th in professional hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 9.32%, while allowing their opponents 672 shots. They have earned a penalty kill rate of 87.65% on their opponents 81 power play opportunities, and their save percentage comes in at 90.5%. They have earned 100 power play chances and they have earned a power play percentage of 23.00%. The Avalanche have scored 63 goals at even strength and 23 goals (8th in the league) while on the power play. They have allowed 64 goals to be scored by way of 54 goals at even strength and 10 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the year, the Colorado Avalanche have earned a total of 86 goals, 36 points, in addition to a points percentage of .667.

Across the ice you will find Philipp Grubauer defending the goal. His opposition is averaging 2.36 goals/game and he has surrendered 422 goals altogether. Grubauer's rate of quality starts is 59.4% and he has qualified for 101 quality starts in his pro hockey career. He has started in 170 games and has been on the ice for 10,711 mins. Grubauer has a career record of 95-59-20 and has been in net for 197 games. He has recorded 4,887 stops out of 5,309 shots tried, which gives him a save % of .921.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota (+125)

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