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Wednesday night isn't a busy one in the hockey world, but United Center is hosting a nationally televised battle between division rivals. At 9:30 p.m. EDT, the Minnesota Wild (21-23-5) and Chicago Blackhawks (14-34-2) will meet for the second time this season. Round one was in Minnesota, and the Wild won 4-1. It was the 10th consecutive time that Minnesota defeated Chicago head-to-head. Will the streak continue, or is Wednesday Chicago's time to shine?
We have the best NHL Predictions sure to provide a great payout.
The Wild are still alive for a Western Conference wild-card spot but need to make up seven points in 33 games. There are a lot of teams in between them. Getting to that spot will require bouncing back from the pair of losses that brought them into the All-Star break. Minnesota's offense mustered two goals in each game, dropping them to 2.98 goals per game this season (18th). The Wild are 20.7% on the power play, which ranks 17th. On the road, Minnesota's scoring and power play have been better this season. This team is 20th in shots per game, but that should increase if the Wild pepper Chicago as they did the first time.
Hot mic = hot moments ??#TrendingWild x @MichGoldenLight pic.twitter.com/oUA8eXRmQu
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 3, 2024
Where Minnesota struggles the most is with penalty killing, as they come out of the break ranked 30th at 73.5%. However, that improves on the road too. The Wild surrender 3.35 goals per game (25th), which is the main reason that their goal differential is -18. Minnesota is 20th in shots against per game and 30th in faceoff win percentage. Injuries cost this team a lot of games, but time is running out to negate that stretch.