Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
Thanks to two wins in a row, the Minnesota Wild are now on the verge of a Wild Card spot, while the Carolina Hurricanes have gone top of the Eastern Conference. Continuing this good run is becoming a difficult task for the squad.
Minnesota Wild
It is not only about the strength of the opposition; the team also have their own problems. Several important players are out. This includes Vladimir Tarasenko, who has been used in the middle lines, and virtually the only right-handed forward Ryan Hartman. First-line centre Marco Rossi has also been missing since 11 November, when the hosts lost at home to the San Jose Sharks (1:2 OT). With these absences John Hynes has to put rookie Danila Yurov, formally a right winger, alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have been away from Raleigh for almost one and a half weeks and so far do not regret it. On Monday they claimed a win over the Boston Bruins (3:1). Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov, who stopped 29 of 30 shots, gave his team-mates confidence. This success was their third away victory in a row, but the first chronologically on this trip. Before that, the Hurricanes had gone three games in a row without winning in regulation time, despite playing all three at home, and now they have finally managed it. The under 6.5 goals bet has landed in all four of those games – 4/4.
Minnesota Wild vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction
As the Carolina Hurricanes have only one regulation win, we are not going to back them as favourites in the result market. It is better to observe and take the under 6.5 goals before the game, especially as the hosts are expected to start backup goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, who has two shutouts in his last two games.
