Everything has gone against the Minnesota Wild this season. The Philadelphia Flyers are doing much better and have a decent chance of defending their way to more points.
Season of setbacks in Minnesota
Known as a playoff regular, the Minnesota Wild will have a tough time qualifying for the playoffs this season. The Wild have already slipped seven points behind the Predators, who hold the last playoff spot in the West. The coming weeks will be critical for the rest of the season as the Wild get to work on a home-focused schedule before the All-Star break.
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Many events susceptible to variance have turned against the Wild this winter. As usual, the Wild are on the better side of the critical fifties mark in terms of expected goals. That hasn’t been much to cheer about, as their goaltending has mostly oscillated between bad and horrific. Most recently, the goalie curse fell on top prospect Jesper Wallstedt, behind whom Dallas bombed seven goals in the Swede’s NHL debut.
In the coming weeks, Marc-Andre Fleury is likely to carry the main responsibility in goal, as Filip Gustavsson is still out injured. Also sidelined are Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon from the defense, as well as Kirill Kaprizov from the offense. These are substantial absences that eat away at the Wild’s chances.
More hands on defense
Where the Wild have had a disappointing season, the Flyers are among the biggest positive surprises of the season. The Flyers are in a playoff position midway through the regular season. Admittedly, their pace has faded from the start of the season, as the sample of the last ten games shows only three wins.
Early this week, the Flyers were involved in the biggest trade of the season so far, with Cutter Gauthier moving to Anaheim in exchange for Jamie Drysdale. It’s impossible to judge the winner of the trade at this point, as Gauthier doesn’t have a single NHL game under his belt. What is certain, however, is that Philly’s defense improved significantly with the acquisition of Drysdale. The 21-year-old defenseman jumped straight into the top pair and opened his scoring account with an assist in his very first game.
Drysdale brings offensive expertise that the Flyers specifically need. Their team defense has improved significantly from last season, but the Flyers are still somewhat limited offensively. Of course, there is also potential for better. Of the forwards who have risen to key roles, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett are under 25 and only just reaching their best level.
Expecting a low-scoring match
Friday night’s clash starts from a very even starting point. Minnesota’s absences give Philly a considerable advantage and level the match almost to a coin toss. The odds reflect this accurately, as Minnesota enters the match as a slight -127 favorite.
In terms of expected goals, this should be a low-scoring encounter, despite Minnesota’s goaltending problems. High danger scoring chances are likely to be scarce, so shooters will need to be effective for overs to cash. The classic total line of 5.5 is almost a 50/50 setup, with the under just slightly less likely. Unibet has +108 available and that is high enough for some entertainment value.
Tip: Under 5.5 @ +108
Units: 1/10
The match will start on 1/12/2024 at 8:00 PM EST.
The odds are from the time of publication of the article and are subject to change.
Esa Kostet
X: @konekostet
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