The Minnesota Wild will be on the road to take on the Anaheim Ducks in a Western Conference NHL game on Wednesday (December 21).
The Wild are doing well, as they're third in the Central Division with an 18-11-2 record. The Ducks are last in the Pacific Division with a 9-20-3 record.
This will be their third and final game between Minnesota and Anaheim. They last played on December 3 with the Wild picking up a 5-4 shootout home win.
Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks Odds
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Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks Match Details
Fixture: Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks
Date & Time: Wednesday, December 21, 2022; 10:30 pm EDT
Venue: Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks Key Stats
The Minnesota Wild have struggled a little bit this season, scoring 100 goals, the 21st-most goals in the NHL. They have been playing well on the power play, scoring 25 goals on 101 power play attempts (24.75%).They have been shooting right at league average with an 10.1 shooting percentage as a team.
Marc-Andre Fleury is the starting goaltender for the Wild and is expected to be in the net for this game. He did well in his previous game, as he allowed one goal on 30 shots against the Chicago Blackhawks in a winning effort.
Fleury is 11-7-1 with a .899 save percentage and 2.94 goals allowed per game. They've given up 89 goals so far, which is seventh in the NHL right now, and are doing pretty well in terms of penalty kills, so they need to be better at full strength.
The Ducks, meanwhile, have been a terrible offensive team as they have posted 80 total goals, 30th-most in the NHL. They're also extremely average in terms of power plays too, going 15 of 93 (16.13%). Left winger Kirill Kaprizov has fared well, recording 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists).
John Gibson has struggled this season as the starting goaltender for the Ducks, as he's 5-14-3 with 3.99 goals allowed per game and has a .896 save percentage.
He played last Tuesday night in the loss against the Maple Leafs, finishing with two goals allowed on 27 shot attempts in 30:48 on the ice. As a team, they're allowing the most goals allowed (139 goals). They have been killing penalties well, killing 82-of-121 (67.77%) of all their penalties.
Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks Betting Prediction
There is a significant difference between these teams and the Wild should dominate on the ice in this game. John Gibson has struggled throughout the season and Marc-Andre Fleury is doing a good job so that's a major difference this year.
Looking at the offense this season, Minnesota is averaging 3.13 goals per game while Anaheim is scoring 2.36 goals per game throughout the year. The Wild are 14-2 in their last 16 games outright against the Ducks, so go with Minnesota to cover the puck line here and sweep the season series.
Prediction: Minnesota Wild -1.5 (-120)
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