The Pittsburgh Penguins hit the road for a quick two-game trip starting off against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday night. The NHL odds board has the Penguins as road favorites after a strong showing out of the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh shut out the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 on Tuesday night to start the home stretch of the season on the right foot. Meanwhile, Minnesota grinded its way to a 2-1 win in Chicago against the lowly Blackhawks on Wednesday night.
The Penguins took down the Wild 4-3 at home back in December, and this will be their final meeting this season.
Can the Pens extend their winning streak to three games? Read on for our Penguins vs. Wild NHL picks and predictions on Friday, February 9.
Penguins vs Wild odds
Penguins vs Wild predictions
The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to make a strong push to end the season to get back into a playoff spot. After starting the season 11-12-3, the Pens are 12-5-4 in their last 21 games since December 12. They suffered a three-game losing streak in late January but salvaged an overtime win against the Canadiens before the break and got that win against the Jets on Tuesday night.
The Minnesota Wild have also had their share of ups and downs this season. They fired head coach Dean Evason after a 5-10-4 start, then went 11-3-0, but are just 6-10-1 in their last 17 games. Even their 2-1 win out of the break wasn’t very convincing against a dreadful Blackhawks team.
"We found a way, but it wasn't the right recipe to give ourselves a chance to win every night," head coach John Hynes said. "We found a way to win the game, but in my opinion, the standard needs to be much higher."
The Wild will absolutely need that standard to be higher against a hungry Penguins team.
The focus will be on Marc-Andre Fleury tonight as the Wild will be honoring him prior to a start against his former team. It should be an emotional night in Minnesota, and we’re going to focus on the goaltending here as well.
Fleury has been shaky this season at 8-9-3 with a 2.95 GAA and .897 SV% but has allowed just two goals on 47 shots in his last three appearances (one start). He’ll be opposed by backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for the Penguins on the first half of a back-to-back set. Nedeljkovic has been great this season for Pittsburgh, going 8-3-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .918 SV%.
The Penguins have been the third-most profitable team this season when betting the Under at 28-17-2 for +10.85 units. The Wild have trended more towards the Over but their goalscoring has dried up recently with two goals in each of their last three games.
Pittsburgh is shifting into playoff mode, which should mean a continuation of tighter, lower-scoring games. The Pens have gone Under 6.5 in three straight games and six of their past seven.
My best bet: Under 6 (-110 via BetMGM)
Penguins vs Wild same-game parlay
Under 5.5
Penguins moneyline
Jake Guentzel anytime goal
A lot of the talk surrounding the Penguins leading up to the trade deadline has been around pending free agent Jake Guentzel. Guentzel is in the final year of his five-year contract and his future in Pittsburgh is up in the air depending on which direction the Penguins want to go.
Guentzel hasn’t let that distract him, though, as he’s one point shy of Sidney Crosby for the team lead. The winger has 50 points (22 goals) in 47 games, including goals in six of 11 January games. He’s been shooting the puck a lot and is always a threat to score.
We’re also going to go with the Penguins moneyline and the Under 5.5. Pittsburgh is simply the better team tonight in Minnesota and has more to play for, even with it being Marc-Andre Fleury’s night.
I’m willing to go down to Under 5.5 rather than the safer 6.5 as the Penguins have gone Under 5.5 in three straight and six of their last seven games.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Penguins vs Wild moneyline and Over/Under analysis
This game opened with both the Penguins odds and Wild odds sitting around -110. However, the Penguins are now between -124 and -130 as road favorites while the Wild are as high as +110 at home.
Despite Minnesota having a home-ice advantage, a lot of the tickets and handle have come in on the Penguins as Pittsburgh continues to push for the playoffs. Even with their backup goalie in net, the money continues to come in on Pittsburgh.
The total hasn’t moved much since opening at a flat 6, though. You can get Over 6 (-108) and Under 6 (-110).
Penguins vs Wild betting trend to know
The Pittsburgh Penguins have hit the Game Total Under in 45 of their last 79 games (+13.00 Units / 15% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Penguins vs. Wild.
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Penguins vs Wild game info
| Location: | Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN |
| Date: | Friday, February 9, 2024 |
| Puck drop: | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Sportsnet Pittsburgh, Bally North |
Penguins vs Wild latest injuries
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