The Carolina Hurricanes (27-9-8) play host to the Minnesota Wild (25-14-4), who will be out to prolong their winning streak, at PNC Arena on Thursday. Minnesota is coming off a 4-2 win over the Capitals on Tuesday, their third straight win.
The Wild committed four penalties in the game, though they held Washington without a power play goal. Jared Spurgeon led the Wild with two goals in regulation. Filip Gustavsson had a great performance with 34 saves (.944%) in the win.
Carolina fell 4-3 (SO) to the Canucks on Sunday. Paul Stastny, Jordan Martinook, and Sebastian Aho each scored once for the Hurricanes. Jaccob Slavin had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Pyotr Kochetkov only had 29 saves on 32 shots against (.906%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Wild won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 2-1 (OT) victory in November, their third straight win against Carolina. Sam Steel led Minnesota with two points (1G 1A). Aho scored Carolina’s only goal. Gustavsson got the win, saving 20 of 21 shots (.952%).
FACING OFF
Minnesota is averaging 3.14 goals per game for the season, 17th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Hurricanes team that is allowing 2.68 goals a game (7th). Meanwhile, Carolina has found the net 3.14 times a game on average, 18th in the league, and the Wild are allowing opponents to score 2.74 goals per game (9th).
Carolina averages more shots a game (35.7) than any other team in the league, though the team’s 9.0% shooting percentage ranks 26th. With an average of 31.2 attempts, Minnesota ranks 18th. Expect a few power play opportunities for the Hurricanes, as the Wild are averaging 4.51 penalties per game, fourth-most in the NHL.
The visitors’ 11.79 penalty minutes a game ranks third-highest. The home team has been penalized 3.95 times a game (13th) for an average of 8.05 minutes (25th).
The Wild’s 22.96% power play percentage ranks 14th in the league, while the Hurricanes are 26th with a conversion rate of 18.30%. When it comes to penalty killing, Carolina has the league’s 12th-ranked PK% at 80.65%, while Minnesota is 14th at 79.86%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 52 points this season, Kirill Kaprizov is the top skater for the Wild. He has 25 goals and 27 assists in 43 games. In the net, Gustavsson (10-6-1) is Minnesota’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.17 GAA, second-best in the league, and a .925% save percentage, fifth-best.
Marc-Andre Fleury (14-8-3) leads the Wild in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 2.86 and a save percentage of .905%. Martin Necas and Aho lead the Hurricanes in scoring with 39 and 37 points, respectively. Necas has 17 goals and 22 assists in 44 games, while Aho has 14 goals and 23 assists. Kochetkov (10-4-5) has the best goals against average for Carolina at 2.33, fifth-best in the league. He has a save percentage of .913%.
HOME AND AWAY
Minnesota is 12-6-3 away from Xcel Energy Center this season. Carolina is 13-5-2 at PNC Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
