8:07 pm
April 24

Wild @ Predators

Who will WIN this matchup?

Minnesota Wild (50-21-7)

@ Nashville Predators (44-29-5)

 

Starting Goalies:

Marc-Andre Fleury (MIN): Confirmed

David Rittich  (NSH): Unconfirmed

 

Current odds:

Minnesota Wild: (-120)

Nashville Predators: (+101)

 

• The Nashville Predators still reside in the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot, but they are sputtering in their bid toward punching a ticket to the playoffs. The Predators (44-29-5, 93 points) have a 3-4-1 record in their past eight games heading into Sunday’s clash against the visiting Minnesota Wild (50-21-7, 107 points).

• Nashville’s struggles continued with a 6-2 loss to the defending Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, a game in which they managed only four shots on goal in the third period.

• On a positive note, captain Roman Josi scored on Saturday to become only the ninth defenseman in league history — and first since 1994 — to record a 90-point season. He joined Paul Coffey, Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin, Al MacInnis, Brian Leetch, Phil Housley and Gary Suter.

• The Wild arrive in the Music City on a tear. A 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken has Minnesota riding a four-game winning streak and a 7-0-1 run overall.

• Minnesota is battling the St. Louis Blues for home-ice advantage when they meet in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Wild hold the edge right now, although the Blues will own the first tiebreaker — regulation wins — if it comes down to that.

• The Wild, who have 50 wins in a season for the first time in franchise history, already have posted a franchise record 107 points.

• Kirill Kaprizov became the first player in franchise history to reach the 100-point mark.

• More of a surprise is the breakout campaign by Kevin Fiala, who is coming off a career-best five-assist performance. He has recorded nine goals and 21 points during a nine-game streak. Fiala has posted four consecutive multi-point games and six in his past seven outings.

• The Wild will be without forward Mats Zuccarello due to a lower-body injury suffered against Seattle.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Minnesota Wild
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