Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche Prediction, 3/20/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: NHL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (+144) Avalanche (-160)

Ball Arena is the venue where Philipp Grubauer and the Colorado Avalanche (18-8-2) will take on the Minnesota Wild (18-9-1) on Saturday. The line on this matchup has the Wild priced at +144 and the Avalanche are at -160. The O/U has been set at 5.5.

The Wild will look for better times on the ice after their 5-1 loss to the Avalanche in their last game. The Wild left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in the defeat. In the game, they netted 1 of the 20 shots they launched. Additionally, they had 4 chances with the advantage and scored 1 goal. Minnesota recorded 10 mins in the box in this contest. The Corsi for the Wild came in at 30 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 63 which means they had a Corsi rate of 32.3%. Their Fenwick came in at 24 and the Fenwick against finished at 52, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 31.6%. They totaled 25 face-off wins when at even strength and lost on 29 attempts to control the puck. Their offensive zone starts sat at 35.1% and their PDO was 90.0 in this game.

The Wild have had 831 shots tried against them and hold a save percentage of .917. While playing at even strength, the Wild have surrendered 55 goals while earning 79 as an offensive unit. Minnesota Wild opponents have totaled 96 power play opportunities (11th in the NHL) and have a total of 14 goals in those chances. For the current season, they have recorded 37 points and their points percentage sits at .661. Minnesota has taken 844 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.3%. In relation to scoring goals, the Minnesota Wild have accumulated 87 goals (17th in hockey) on the season and have surrendered 69. Minnesota comes into the game with 90 power play chances and they have notched 8 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 8.89%.

The man in goal for this game is Kaapo Kahkonen. Kahkonen has played in 21 games throughout his pro hockey career. He has accumulated a mark of 15-5-1 and he has gotten the start in 20 games. The opposition has notched 47 goals versus Kahkonen in his career and his goals against average per contest is 2.27. Kahkonen has seen 611 shots against him and has recorded 564 total saves. His save percentage sits at .923 during his 1,240 mins between the pipes. Over the course of his pro career, Kahkonen has accumulated 12 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .600.

In their win over Minnesota, Colorado earned a 67.7% Corsi rate. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Colorado played and they put on a good performance in this one. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 68.4% by earning a Fenwick of 52 and the Wild having earned a 24 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO at even strength was 110 and they earned an oZS percentage of 64.9%. The Avalanche recorded 5 goals of the 55 shots on goal they took. They had 2 opportunities on the power play in this outing and earned 1 out of those opportunities.

Colorado has taken 978 shots (5th in hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 9.30%, while allowing their opponents 692 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 87.06% on their opponents 85 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is 90.6%. They have a total of 102 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 23.53%. The Avalanche have scored 67 goals at even strength and 24 goals (7th in the NHL) while on the power play. They have granted a total of 65 goals to be scored by of a combination of 54 goals at even strength and 11 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the year, the Colorado Avalanche have earned a total of 91 goals, 38 points, in addition to a points percentage of .679.

Across the rink you are expected to see Philipp Grubauer between the pipes. Grubauer is sitting with a career record of 96-59-20 and has played in 198 games. Grubauer's rate of quality starts is 59.6% and he has made 102 quality starting assignments in his pro career. He has a tally of 4,906 saves out of 5,329 shots attempted, which gives him a rate of .921. Teams are averaging 2.36 goals per contest and he has relinquished 423 goals altogether. He was named a starter in 171 games and has been on the ice for 10,771 mins.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota (+144)

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