Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the NHL match.
The Minnesota Wild will play their seventh consecutive game on the road, having last been seen at home at the Xcel Energy Center on 12 October. How will their final away game in this stretch conclude?
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have also been on the road but for just a week compared to their opponent. Nevertheless, the series was entirely unsuccessful: four defeats, with only one going to shootouts. The team's performance is largely driven by Evgeni Malkin, who is delivering a strong start similar to last year: 3+11 in 10 games. He has surpassed the milestones of 500 goals, 800 assists, and 1300 points. Others, even Sidney Crosby (seven points), are significantly trailing, leading to an overall winless streak of five games.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild aren't hindered by the lack of home ice in collecting points. They have won four out of six games in their road series, including four consecutive victories. However, the last game slightly tarnished this impression. They lost to the Philadelphia Flyers (5:7), who had only won once before. The Wild took the lead for the first time at the beginning of the third period (4:3) but quickly lost the advantage. Conceding six goals doesn't flatter Filip Gustavsson, who performed well below his level (0.727 compared to an average of 0.953 in the previous five matches).
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Minnesota Wild Prediction
The Minnesota Wild's defeat was uncharacteristic. Prior to that game, they hadn't conceded more than four goals in regulation. Filip Gustavsson doesn’t typically perform poorly in consecutive games. The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t been particularly impressive on their home ice either: in three home games, the Penguins have not secured a win in regulation (one draw and two losses). The visitors are likely to avoid defeat.
