VANCOUVER vs MINNESOTA NHL Odds, Pick & Preview

The VANCOUVER and the MINNESOTA will both be gunning for a victory on 11/15/2018 at 8:05 PM when they meet in a game matchup.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs MINNESOTA WILD
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Thursday, November 15, 2018
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: MINNESOTA , VANCOUVER

Oddsmakers currently have the VANCOUVER listed as 230-moneyline favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The Minnesota Wild try returning to the form that saw them go 10-2-0 after a 1-2-2 start when they host the road-weary Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Minnesota suffered its eighth straight loss to Washington, 5-2 on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game homestand, with Wild coach Bruce Boudreau telling reporters: “(We) weren’t as good as (we) were for the last 12 games. … We just weren’t sharp. … Some guys were not as good as I expected them to be.”

Minnesota (5-1-2 at Xcel Energy Center), which was the last team to lose in regulation at home, welcomes a Vancouver club that has struggled through the Eastern Conference portion of its second six-game road trip of 2018-19. The Canucks are coming off a 5-2 loss against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, falling to 1-2-2 on the trek with their third straight setback. “It’s been a grind a little bit, but it’s not an excuse,” Vancouver coach Travis Green told reporters. “In the NHL nowadays, you’ve got to be able to win on the road. We get home in a few days. We’ve got one more game and we’re going to finish this trip off with a win.” The Canucks have won four of the last five meetings with the Wild, including a 5-2 victory Oct. 29 in Vancouver with rookie sensation Elias Pettersson scoring a pair of goals and Jacob Markstrom stopping 37 shots.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FS North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (10-8-2): Pettersson (club-most 10 goals), who is tied for the team lead in points (17) with Bo Horvat (nine goals), has been kept off the scoresheet for the last three games. Loui Eriksson has scored all four of his goals this season in November and also owns four of his eight assists in those six games. Markstrom (7-5-2, 3.28 goals-against average, .896 save percentage) is in line to make his 10th straight start although backup Richard Bachman might make his first appearance this season with Markstrom playing back-to-back nights Monday and Tuesday.

ABOUT THE WILD (11-5-2): Mikael Granlund (team highs of 10 goals, 18 points) had his three-game goal streak snapped Tuesday. Zach Parise (seven goals, 16 points) scored his 340th career goal Sunday against St. Louis to tie Dave Christian for the most in NHL history among Minnesota-born players. Devan Dubnyk (8-4-2, 2.34, .927) allowed more than three goals Tuesday for only the fourth time this season.

OVERTIME

1. The Wild boasts the No. 4 penalty-killing unit in the NHL at 85.7 percent after going 8-for-9 in the last five games.

2. Vancouver RW Brock Boeser (four goals, 11 points in 13 games), the 2018 Calder Trophy runner-up, has missed the last five games as he continues to recover from a groin injury.

3. Minnesota is 5-2-1 versus the Pacific Division this season while the Canucks are 3-1-0 against the Central.

PREDICTION: Wild 3, Canucks 2

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