Wild vs Blackhawks

The Wild are simply the more trustworthy side right now: they’ve tightened up defensively with five shutouts already and just three goals allowed over their last three games, while Chicago has followed a 5-0-1 heater with three straight losses, including a 9-3 collapse in Buffalo and a 1-0 shutout at home to Colorado. Minnesota’s current roster core of Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and a red-hot Wallstedt/Gustavsson tandem is intact per ESPN’s active roster and recent box scores, whereas Chicago is missing key veteran pieces like captain Nick Foligno and middle-six center Jason Dickinson (both on IR), and Andre Burakovsky is still banged up, thinning their forward depth around Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen. Minnesota also handled Chicago 4-2 at the United Center back in January with its two-way spine (Spurgeon, Eriksson Ek, Boldy) driving play, and this season’s numbers—Wild 12-7-4 with 68 GF/64 GA vs. Hawks 10-8-4 with 69 GF/62 GA but worse recent underlying form—justify Minnesota as a road favorite in this range. I’d price the Wild closer to -160 given their current five-game run and Chicago’s injuries plus three-game skid, so -140 still offers a modest edge; I’ll grade this moneyline play an A- for win probability and solid but not massive value. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 26/11/2025 09:52am

With the way Minnesota is defending right now, the Under 5.5 at 100 looks appealing despite the juice leaning toward the Over: the Wild have four shutouts during their 7-0-1 November heater, Wallstedt sits under a 2.00 GAA with three shutouts in his last four starts, and they’ve allowed two or fewer goals in the majority of their recent wins. Chicago still has offensive talent—Bedard leading the team with 31 points, plus Bertuzzi and Teravainen in form—but their last three outings have produced goal totals of 5, 12 and 1, including being blanked 1-0 by Colorado and held to three in that 9-3 rout where score effects inflated chances; more importantly, their current three-game losing streak has coincided with tougher defensive competition and an injured forward group missing Foligno, Dickinson and a less-than-100% Burakovsky. Season-long, both teams sit around league-average scoring (Wild 68 GF in 23 games, Hawks 69 GF in 22), but Minnesota’s recent trend toward tight-checking road games and elite goaltending—combined with Chicago’s offensive inconsistency against structured teams—tilts my projection closer to a 3-1 or 3-2 type of script. At a fair price of 100, I’ll take Under 5.5 with a B+ grade, reflecting a strong matchup and form edge but acknowledging that Bedard’s power play could still make things dicey late. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 26/11/2025 09:52am

If you’re hunting for plus-money, Minnesota -1.5 at 192 is a reasonable way to leverage their current form, even if it’s riskier than taking the moneyline: the Wild have multiple November wins by two or more goals (5-2 vs. Vancouver, 2-0 vs. Calgary, 2-0 vs. Anaheim, 5-0 at Pittsburgh, 3-0 at Winnipeg), and their defensive dominance plus strong goaltending have turned late leads into comfortable margins. Chicago, by contrast, has shown blowout vulnerability—most glaringly the 9-3 loss in Buffalo—and now has a thin, injury-hit leadership group with Foligno and Dickinson sidelined, while Burakovsky’s recent knock further reduces their insulation around Bedard, especially against a deep Wild top nine that now includes productive youngsters like Danila Yurov alongside established scorers Kaprizov and Boldy. Minnesota already won 4-2 in this building earlier in 2025, and against a Blackhawks team on a three-game skid, leaning heavily on Spencer Knight, and giving up 62 goals through 22 games, the chances of a 3-1 or 4-1 Wild victory are meaningful enough to justify the generous plus price. I’ll grade the Wild -1.5 puckline as a B: less likely to cash than the straight moneyline but offering a worthwhile payout for those comfortable with variance in a matchup tilted toward Minnesota’s current two-way edge. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 26/11/2025 09:52am