Boston Bruins vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, 12/23/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Boston Bruins vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Saturday, December 23, 2023

Location: Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Bruins (-148) Wild (+120)

The Minnesota Wild (14-13-4) will compete against the Boston Bruins (19-5-6) at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. The moneyline on this contest has the Bruins at -148 and the Wild open at +120. The over/under is 7.

The Boston Bruins were on the losing side of the ice with a 4-3 loss against the Wild in their previous game. The Bruins offense didn't overly impress in this defeat. For the matchup, they tallied a score on 3 of the 43 shots they put on goal. In addition, they had 3 power play chances and were able to score 1 goal. Boston accounted for 14 penalty minutes in this contest.

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Boston Bruins opponents have amassed 112 power play opportunities (7th in hockey) and have notched 14 goals in those attempts. The Bruins have seen 967 shots taken against them and have earned a save percentage of .920. Boston has taken 947 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.0%. When at even strength, the Bruins have surrendered 63 goals while earning 72 on the offensive side of the ice. Boston has 94 power play opportunities and they have tallied 23 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 24.47%. For the year, they have 44 points and their points percentage sits at .733. When it comes to their scoring capabilities, the Boston Bruins have accounted for 95 goals (20th in the NHL) on the season and have conceded 77.

The player protecting the goal in this game is Linus Ullmark. Ullmark has participated in 223 games over the course of his NHL career. He has amassed an overall record of 126-67-18 and he has started in 214 games. Opponents have been able to score 540 goals against Ullmark in his NHL career and his goals against average per game is 2.52. Ullmark has had 6,636 shot attempts against him and has gathered 6,096 total saves. He has a save percentage of .919 in his 12,833 minutes guarding the cage. In his professional hockey career, Ullmark is sitting with 136 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .636.

In their last outing, Minnesota faced the Canadiens in an outing where the Wild took home the victory by a mark of 4-3. They had 6 power play chances in this outing and netted 2 out of those attempts. The Wild had 4 goals out of the 24 shots on goal they tried.

Minnesota has put up 932 shots (24th in the NHL) and has earned a shot percentage of 10.09%, while allowing the opposition 950 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill rate of 72.57% on their opponents 113 tries on the power play, and their save percentage comes in at 89.6%. They have a tally of 105 chances on the power play and they have earned a power play percentage of 18.10%. The Wild have earned 75 goals at even strength and 19 goals (21st in hockey) while on the power play. They have permitted 99 goals to be scored by of a combination of 68 goals at even strength and 31 goals while they were shorthanded. So far this season, the Minnesota Wild have 94 goals, 32 points, in addition to a points percentage of .516.

Across the ice you are going to see Filip Gustavsson patrolling the crease. He is sitting with 2,371 stops out of 2,587 shots taken, which gives him a save percentage of .917. Gustavsson has accumulated a lifetime mark of 41-30-12 and has participated in 86 games. He has made the start in 80 games and has racked up 4,990 mins. Gustavsson's quality start percentage sits at 61.3% and he has earned 49 quality starts in his career. His opponents are averaging 2.60 goals/game and he has given up 216 goals in total.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Boston (-148)

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