Minnesota Wild vs St. Louis Blues Prediction, 3/15/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs St. Louis Blues

Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (-167) Blues (+140)

Enterprise Center is where the St. Louis Blues (29-32-5) will take on the Minnesota Wild (38-21-8) on Wednesday. The line on this contest has the Wild at -167 while the Blues are priced at +140. The over/under comes in at 6.

The Minnesota Wild will need a bounce back game after taking a 5-4 loss to the Coyotes their last time out. The Wild had a good offensive outing and it showed in this defeat. In the game, they netted 4 out of the 34 shots they tried. Additionally, they had 4 power play attempts but weren't able to net one. Minnesota tallied 24 penalty minutes in this matchup.

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In regard to their scoring capabilities, the Minnesota Wild have earned 188 goals (25th in the National Hockey League) this year and have given up 174. For the year, they sit with 84 points and their points percentage is sitting at .627. Minnesota comes into tonight with 208 power play chances and they have scored 46 goals out of those attempts, earning them a rate of 22.12%. At even strength, the Wild have allowed the opponent to score 136 goals while scoring 142 on offense. Minnesota has taken 2,101 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 9.0%. The Wild have seen 2,024 shots tried against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .914. Minnesota Wild opponents have 210 power play opportunities (14th in the NHL) and have come away with 38 goals in those attempts.

The player in the crease for this game is Filip Gustavsson. Gustavsson has played in 58 games over the course of his NHL career. He has earned a record of 27-21-8 and he was named the starter in 52 games. The opposition has notched 140 goals against Gustavsson in his pro career and his goals against rate is 2.51. Gustavsson has seen 1,710 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 1,570 saves. He has a save percentage of .918 in his 3,340 minutes guarding the cage. Over the course of his pro career, Gustavsson has earned 35 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .673.

Their last time out, St. Louis faced the Golden Knights in an outing where the Blues ended up taking the loss by a final score of 5-3. They had 1 chance on the power play in this matchup and scored 1 on that chance. The Blues netted 3 goals out of the 33 shots on goal they pursued.

This season, the St. Louis Blues have notched a total of 202 goals, 63 points, as well as a points percentage of .477. They have granted a total of 241 goals to be scored by of a combination of 203 goals at even strength and 38 goals while they were shorthanded. The Blues have 163 goals at even strength and 39 goals (22nd in pro hockey) while having a power play advantage. They have a tally of 195 power play opportunities and they have a power play percentage of 20.00%. St. Louis has tried 1,907 shots (27th in professional hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 10.59%, while allowing the opposition 2,140 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 76.83% on the other teams 164 power play tries, and their save percentage currently comes in at 88.7%.

Across the rink you are likely to see Jordan Binnington defending the goal. His opposition is averaging 2.76 goals/game and he has allowed 570 goals overall. Binnington's rate of quality starts sits at 51.7% and he has 108 quality starting assignments in his NHL career. He has been a starter 209 games and has been on the ice for 12,389 minutes. Binnington has a lifetime mark of 112-70-25 and has been in net for 213 games. He has recorded 5,547 saves out of the 6,117 shots attempted, giving him a rate of .907.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota (-167)

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