New Jersey Devils vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, 12/2/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New Jersey Devils vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Thursday, December 2, 2021

Location: Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Devils (+150) Wild (-186)

Cam Talbot and the Minnesota Wild (15-6-1) host the New Jersey Devils (9-7-4) at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. The Devils open this game at +150 while the Wild are coming in at -186. The total has been set at 6.

The Devils will need a bounce back game after taking a 5-2 loss against the Sharks in their last contest. The Corsi for the Devils was sitting at 62 and the Corsi against when all was said and done was 48 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 56.4%. Their starts in the offensive zone sat at 66.7% and they had a PDO of 90.1 for this one. New Jersey accrued 2 penalty minutes in this matchup. The Devils didn't have their best offensive outing in the defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 47 and the Fenwick against was 33, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 58.8%. They accounted for 20 face-off wins when at even strength and were beaten on 30 attempts to gain puck control. Additionally, they had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to score. For the matchup, they netted 2 of the 34 shots they tried.

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New Jersey Devils opponents have earned 68 power play opportunities (9th in professional hockey) and have come away with 14 goals in those chances. The Devils have had 627 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .904. New Jersey has taken 645 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 9.0%. When at even strength, the Devils have conceded 46 goals while getting 51 of their own. New Jersey has compiled 56 power play opportunities and they have notched 7 goals during those advantages, garnering them a percentage of 12.50%. For the current season, they have earned 22 points and their points percentage is .550. With regard to their scoring capabilities, the New Jersey Devils have notched 58 goals (22nd in hockey) this season and have given up 60.

The man in goal for this game is Mackenzie Blackwood. Opponents have scored 309 goals versus Blackwood in his pro hockey career and his goals against rate is 2.84. Blackwood has been in goal for 114 games during his pro hockey career. His save percentage is at .911 for his 6,539 minutes played. He has amassed a win-loss record of 50-43-14 and he has started in 108 games. During his career on the ice, Blackwood is sitting with 58 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .537. Blackwood has had 3,487 shots taken against him and he has 3,178 saves.

The last time they were on the ice, Minnesota faced off against the Coyotes in a game where the Wild got the win by a final score of 5-2. Their PDO at even strength was 109 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 54.8%. They had 4 attempts on the power play in this one but didn't score a goal. Their Fenwick rate came in at 48.7% by compiling a Fenwick of 38 and the Coyotes having a 40 Fenwick. The Wild recorded 5 goals of the 37 shots on goal they took. Minnesota earned a 48.4% Corsi rate. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Minnesota played and we'd say they played well overall.

This season, the Minnesota Wild have a total of 81 goals, 31 points, as well as a points percentage of .705. They have permitted 65 goals to be scored by of a combination of 51 goals at even strength and 14 goals while they were shorthanded. The Wild have accumulated 71 goals at even strength and 10 goals (24th in pro hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have recorded 70 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 14.29%. Minnesota has attempted 742 shots (7th in pro hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 10.92%, while allowing their opponents 669 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 81.33% on their opponents 75 power play opportunities, and their save percentage sits at 90.3%.

Across the ice you are likely to see Cam Talbot patrolling the crease. He has compiled 9,809 saves out of 10,718 shots attempted, which gives him a save percentage of .915. Talbot has compiled a career record of 181-135-30 and has played in 364 games. He has started in 350 contests and has played for a total of 20,875 minutes. Talbot's quality start percentage comes out to 52.9% and he has 185 quality starts in his pro hockey career. Opponents are averaging 2.61 goals per game and he has surrendered 909 goals in total.

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

Guy's Pick: Take New Jersey (+150)

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