Wild vs Rangers Odds & Picks: Minnesota’s Point Streak On The Line In New York

The Minnesota Wild (25-10-3) visit the New York Rangers (28-12-4) at Madison Square Garden on Friday in their first meeting of the season. The Wild enter the contest on a seven-game point streak (6-0-1) while the Rangers are 5-2-0 over their last seven outings. Which team is the smart bet in this tight matchup? Find out in our Wild vs Rangers prediction.

Wild vs Rangers Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The Wild opened at -111 on the moneyline with the Rangers at -105, but early action moved the line to Minnesota -120. The total was set at 6.5 goals with the OVER going 4-1 in each team’s last five games. Minnesota holds the advantage in the head-to-head department, going 6-2-2 over the last 10 meetings – something to keep in mind for your Wild vs Rangers prediction.

Get the best Wild vs Rangers odds and lines available from our recommended sportsbooks for your favorite picks of the night.

Wild Riding High After Eight-Goal Outburst

The Wild had an offensive outburst in their last game, winning 8-2 at home over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. Minnesota had eight different goal scorers while Nico Sturm (1-2-3) led the team with three points. Cam Talbot made 14 saves on 15 shots to earn the win, but he left the game in the third period after aggravating a lower-body injury.

Minnesota has shaken its reputation as a defensive team thanks to the emergence of a few highly skilled forwards. Kirill Kaprizov, the 2020-21 Calder Trophy Sportsbook, is on pace to blow last year’s numbers out of the water with 17-32-49 through just 37 games, while 34-year-old Mats Zuccarello (12-26-38) is poised to post new career highs. Ryan Hartman (18-14-32) has seemingly emerged out of nowhere as well, already just one goal shy of his career best set in 2016-17.

Jonas Brodin (upper body) is probable while Talbot (lower body) is questionable.

Rangers In A Tight Race Atop Metropolitan Division

The Rangers fell 5-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last outing on Thursday. Artemi Panarin tallied a goal and two assists to lead the Blueshirts offensively while Alexandar Georgiev stopped 14 of 18 shots between the pipes.

Despite the disappointing loss to a mediocre Blue Jackets team, the Rangers have been playing good hockey of late, winning five of their last seven games. New York finds itself in a tight race atop the Metropolitan Division as the team is one of three clubs with 60 points, alongside Carolina and Pittsburgh. The Rangers will be hoping to have a strong second half of the season to earn the top spot and set themselves up for an easier path in the playoffs.

Patrik Nemeth (personal), Filip Chytil (lower body) and Kaapo Kakko (upper body) are questionable.

Wild vs Rangers Pick & Insights

Wild: Keys To Victory

Minnesota and New York are two very different teams as the Wild tend to play high-scoring games while the Rangers seem to prefer lower-scoring, tighter affairs. If the Wild are going to pick up the win and continue their point streak, they’ll need to stick to their game plan and outscore the Rangers. With the third-best offense in the NHL (3.82 goals per game), Minnesota certainly has the talent to do so.

Rangers: Keys To Victory

The Rangers will be retiring the No. 30 jersey of legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist before the game on Friday, which is only fitting for our Wild vs Rangers prediction. Igor Shesterkin should be getting the start and it’ll be up to him to shut down a high-flying Minnesota offense. The Rangers netminder ranks second in save percentage among goalies with at least 10 games played (.937) and is third in goals-against average (2.07).

Odds Shark’s Computer Wild vs Rangers Prediction: Wild ML (-120)

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