Ah, the smell of ice in the air, my friends. Let us dive into this anticipated matchup between the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues, shall we? Looking at the goalkeepers, Minnesota’s got Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. Gustavsson’s saving at 95.5% recently while Fleury holds steady at 88.2%. Do you remember Filip last season? Boy, he saved 90.8% of shots then. Quite impressive. The Blues have Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer in net, saving at 90.0% and 86.2% respectively this past month. Be aware, though, Binnington had a 91.1% save rate last season.
Glancing at the movers and shakers, we have Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy showing some muscle from the Wild side. Both scored a couple and assisted a few. Then there comes Mats Zuccarello, scoring twice and assisting once. St. Louis has its firepower too. Remember Pavel Buchnevich? Three goals and a sweet one assist this season speaks volumes of his contribution.
History doesn't have a short memory, so let's remind ourselves of past between these two teams. The Blues have had a slight edge, clinching three out of the last five face-offs. This season’s record, however, paints a slightly different picture so far. The Wild stands at a meager 1-2-0 while the Blues have to smile with a 2-0-1.
Recent results? Oh, talk about a roller coaster ride. The Wild had a 1-2 defeat against Winnipeg but managed to score a 3-2 win against Columbus. Meanwhile, the Blues survived a close shave with a 4-3 win against Vegas then fell to a 4-5 loss against San Jose. Intriguing, right?
So, after all the chit-chat, it's prediction time. The dollars are on the Minnesota Wild, but the Blues shouldn’t be taken lightly, my friends. Buckle up, we’re in for a blast.
Albert's Prediction: Minnesota Wild by 2